UK Defence Journal (“Norwegian fuel supplier refuses U.S. warships over Ukraine“):
Norwegian fuel company Haltbakk Bunkers has announced it will cease supplying fuel to U.S. military forces in Norway and American ships docking in Norwegian ports, citing dissatisfaction with recent U.S. policy towards Ukraine.
In a strongly worded statement, the company criticised a televised event involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, referring to it as the “biggest shitshow ever presented live on TV.”
Haltbakk Bunkers praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his restraint, accusing the U.S. of “putting on a backstabbing TV show” and declaring that the spectacle “made us sick.”
As a result, the company stated: “We have decided to immediately STOP as fuel provider to American forces in Norway and their ships calling Norwegian ports. No Fuel to Americans!” Haltbakk Bunkers also urged Norwegians and Europeans to follow their lead, concluding their statement with the slogan “Slava Ukraina” in support of Ukraine
I have no expertise on the nature of HB’s contract with the U.S. government but suspect that this will sort itself out soon enough. But the reaction of a core NATO ally to the meeting should raise alarm bells.
While Norway has historically fallen just shy of the 2% GDP defense spending pledge, they field a sizable, well-trained force that’s a robust contributor to NATO combined operations. They’ve been stockpiling pre-positioned supplies for US and NATO forces since the 1980s at their own expense.
The US Marines, in particular, have a deep relationship with Norwegian forces, routinely training there. Alone among foreign countries, Norway has a decades-long relationship with the Marine Command and Staff college wherein they supply a top lieutenant colonel for a two-year stint on the faculty. They’re sending the best of the best, folks who will pin on colonel as soon as they get back to Norway and most of whom will be generals.
If your worldview is purely transactional, I suppose that doesn’t matter. But we’ve spent more than a century building up goodwill. It takes a far shorter time to squander it.
