Russia Files Protest After Accusing Norway of Detaining Trawler
Russia on Friday accused Norway’s coastguards of detaining a Russian fishing trawler near a remote chain of islands in the Arctic earlier this month and said it had filed a protest to Oslo over the incident.The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, about 850 km (500 miles) north of mainland Norway, is seen as a potential flashpoint between Moscow and the West as climate change has opened up the resource-rich region.Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday Russia was seriously concerned after a Russian fishing vessel named the Borey was detained on April 2, within Norway’s fish protection zone that Russia considers illegal.“We…
Norway Awards Oil Permits to 11 Firms in Arctic Licensing Round
Norway has awarded 12 oil and gas exploration licences to Equinor and 10 other companies focused mostly on the Arctic, where Oslo believes it has the greatest potential for significant new discoveries.Nine of the licences are located in the Barents Sea and three in the Norwegian Sea off central Norway, the Ministry of Oil and Energy said on Monday."This licensing round confirms that the oil companies see opportunities for further profitable petroleum activity in the north," Oil and Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.Equinor…
Statoil Downplays Risks Ahead of Arctic Drilling
Norway's Statoil on Monday played down concerns that drilling in the Arctic is risky, days before it kickstarts its drilling campaign in the Barents Sea, where the country believes around half of its remaining resources could be located. "We will start drilling the first well, Blaamann, during May ... followed by Kayak, Gemini (Nord), Korpfjell and Koigen (Central)," said a Statoil spokesman, adding each might take about a month to drill. All the wells are in areas free of sea ice thanks to the warm Gulf Stream…
Too Eager to Drill for Arctic Oil - Greenpeace
Greenpeace's ship, the Esperanza, is still on station in the Arctic to expose renewed Norwegian efforts to drill for oil in this pristine environment. Last week Greenpeace successfully headed off attempts by an oil company to complete controversial seismic testing, commissioned by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in the absence of any political discussion, by revealing it in prime time TV news. Norwegian oil interests are persistent but Greenpeace say that they are determined to stop them. This week the Esperanza approached the Statoil oil rig Transocean Spitsbergen located over the Isfjell well, just south of Bear Island in the Barents Sea. "They are really eager to drill, too eager," pointed out Erlend Tellnes, an Arctic campaigner with Greenpeace Nordic.
The “Green” threat to oil rig security
... emerging as an issue as alarming as piracy. Last week an oil rig in the Barents Sea hit the headlines after being successfully boarded, stopping drilling for 89 hours at an estimated cost of $1.26million. So who were the boarders; gun toting pirates threating violence and looking to steal? No, this was a “peaceful” protest executed by Greenpeace which saw 15 activists from 8 countries scale and occupy a rig to protest against drilling plans near to the Bear Island Nature Reserve.
Norway Rejects Greenpeace Appeal over Arctic Drilling
Norwegian authorities have rejected an appeal by Greenpeace to stop Statoil from drilling the world's most northerly well on the Apollo prospect in the Barents Sea, the Norwegian oil company said on Friday. The company's announcement that it has been given approval to start drilling comes a day after Norwegian police removed seven Greenpeace protesters who had boarded the rig in an attempt to prevent it from reaching the Barents Sea and Bear Island, an uninhabited wildlife sanctuary that is home to rare species, including polar bears. “Greenpeace has once again performed an illegal action.
Industry Icon Ray Holubowicz Dies
Ray Holubowicz, Father of Shipping Containerization and founder of UK based Marine Ventures Ltd, Dies at 88. Romuald Paul, better known as "Ray" Holubowicz, a prime mover in the shipping industry's changeover to the use of shipping containers, died on New Year's Day in England. He was 88. A native of Cudahy, Wisconsin, Ray Holubowicz was in the first (1942) graduating class of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY). After only a few months' training, he was…
TITAN Monitoring Arctic Circle Shipwreck
TITAN Salvage has been contracted by the owners of the refrigerated cargo ship Petrozavodsk to provide environmental protection and other services for the 1,287 TDWT vessel, which ran aground on the southern tip of Bjornoya (Bear Island) in May. Bear Island is a remote location between Norway and Spitzbergen within the Arctic Circle. The crew of 12 was rescued earlier from the stricken vessel by helicopter, and the ship is now aground under precipitous cliffs which pose a threat due to falling rocks.
