Rosatom and Finland's Fennovoima claim different wins after tribunal ruling

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Finnish utility Fennovoima each highlighted different parts of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal ruling as favourable on Saturday, in a long-running dispute over the cancelled Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power project.

The parties have been locked in legal disputes since Fennovoima scrapped the 7-billion-euro ($7.8 billion) project in May 2022, citing significant delays and political risks shortly after Russia launched its conflict in Ukraine.

Rosatom said the tribunal found that Fennovoima had unlawfully terminated the contract for the construction of the planned plant in northern Finland.

"Today's victory is important, but not final. We will continue to prove that we are right regarding the Finnish project in courts of various instances," Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said in a statement, which did not refer to any financial outcome. 

Fennovoima said the tribunal found that it had not been entitled to terminate the contract, but that it was entitled to receive reimbursements of advance payments and interest in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion).

It said the tribunal offset both sides' claims, resulting in Rosatom subsidiaries being ordered to pay Fennovoima a net 606 million euros plus interest.

The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The contract to build the 1.2 gigawatt plant was signed in 2013 with Fennovoima, a consortium in which Finnish stakeholders including Fortum, Outokumpu and SSAB originally controlled two thirds through a joint venture, and the Russian side held one third.

After the project's termination, Fennovoima wound down its operations and is primarily engaged in legal proceedings.

($1 = 0.8928 euros)

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova, Additional reporting and writing by Alessandra PrenticeEditing by Ros Russell, Alexandra Hudosn)