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Simon Johnson News

08 Nov 2023

Finland Says China Promised Full Cooperation in Pipeline Probe

© iuneWind / Adobe Stock

Finland on Wednesday said China had promised to fully cooperate in the investigation of the destruction last month of the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which happened on the same night that three subsea telecoms cables in the area were also damaged.Finnish police have said they are investigating whether a Hong Kong registered container vessel, the NewNew Polar Bear, damaged the pipeline by dragging its anchor over the sea bed, but have not concluded whether this was an accident…

07 Apr 2023

Swedish Prosecutor Believes State Actor Behind Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts

©The gas leak from the September 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline measured over 950 meters in diameter.- ©Swedish Coast Guard

A state actor's involvement in the blast of the Nord Stream pipelines last year is the "absolute main scenario", though confirming identity will prove difficult, the Swedish prosecutor investigating the attack said on Thursday.In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea. The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible.

06 Apr 2023

Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts Probe Continues, but Culprits Difficult to Determine

The gas leak at Nord Stream 2 seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm in late September 2022. Photo: Danish Defence

It will likely be difficult to determine who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia and Germany in the Baltic Sea last year, Sweden's prosecution authority, which is investigating the incident, said on Thursday. The Sept. 26 explosions at the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. The blast in the Swedish zone happened at a depth of 80 meters and the prosecutor said investigating it was complicated. "Our hope is to be able to confirm who has committed this crime…

23 Dec 2022

Two Offshore Drilling Firms Set to Merge

Credit: Aquadrill

Offshore drilling firms Seadrill Limited and Aquadrill (ex-Seadrill Partners) on Thursday announced a definitive merger agreement under which Seadrill will acquire Aquadrill in an all-stock transaction. When the transaction is completed, Seadrill shareholders and Aquadrill unitholders will own 62% and 38% of the common shares in the new company, respectively. Based on Seadrill's 30-day volume-weighted average share price of US$31.25 on the NYSE as of December 22, 2022, the deal…

15 Dec 2021

Danish Vessel Involved in Collision off Sweden is Starting to Sink

(Photo: Swedish Coast Guard)

A Danish ship involved in a collision off the Swedish coast that left one crew member dead and another missing has started to take on water and may soon sink, the Swedish Coast Guard said on Wednesday.At least one person, a Danish crew member from the 55-metre barge Karin Hoj, died in the collision with the 90-metre Scot Carrier, which occurred in fog and darkness off the Danish island of Bornholm in the early hours of Monday.Karin Hoj capsized from the collision but remained afloat, and was towed to shallow water where it was searched.

15 Dec 2021

Swedish Prosecutor to Free One Suspect Held over Boat Collision

A Swedish prosecutor said on Wednesday that one of two crew members of a British cargo vessel held after a collision capsized a Danish barge in the Baltic Sea would be released from custody. The second crew member remains in detention.At least one person, a Danish crew member from the 55-meter barge Karin Hoj, died in the collision with the 90-meter Scot Carrier, which occurred in fog and darkness off the Danish island of Bornholm in the early hours of Monday.The prosecutor said a Croatian national and crew member of the Scot Carrier had been released after suspicions receded, although he remained under investigation.A British crew member…

13 Dec 2021

Two Held by Police After Ship Collision off Sweden

Two crew members from the British Vessel Scot Carrier are being held by police on suspicion of negligence resulting in death, after the ship collided with a smaller Danish boat in the Baltic Sea the Swedish Prosecution Authority said on Monday.The authority said a British citizen born in 1991 and a Croatian citizen born in 1965 were detained as suspects in the investigation.One crew member of a Danish barge has been found dead and another is missing after an overnight collision with a British vessel in a busy maritime route off Sweden.(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Simon Johnson)

16 Nov 2021

Seabed Rock May Have Caused Holes in Estonia Ferry that Sank

The Broken Line Monument in Tallinn, Estonia to rememer the victims of the Ferry disaster in 1994 (© Karl Allen Lugmayer / Adobe Stock)

Rock on the seabed may have gouged previously unknown holes in the hull of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives, officials said on Tuesday following a new examination of the wreck.In 1997, an official investigation into Europe's worst peacetime maritime disaster since World War Two concluded that the Estonia sank after a bow shield failed, damaging a bow ramp and causing the car deck to flood.But in 2020, a documentary team found two previously unknown holes in the Estonia's hull…

08 Feb 2021

Case Against Film Team Accused of Disturbing Wreck of Ferry Estonia Dismissed

© sergign / Adobe Stock

The case against two film makers charged with disturbing the wreck of the ferry Estonia, which sank in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives, was dismissed on Monday by a Swedish court as their vessel was not covered by the law protecting the grave site.The men were part of a Discovery Network documentary team which sent a remote-operated vehicle to film the wreck in the Baltic Sea in 2019, discovering previously unknown damage to the hull and reviving speculation about the cause of…

14 Jan 2021

Sweden Clearing Legal Path to Reexamine Estonia Wreck Site

An inflatable life raft from sunken RoPax ferry Estonia (Photo: Accident Investigation Board Finland)

A new examination of the wreck of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives, will be possible from the summer when a change to Swedish law comes into force, news agency TT reported on Thursday.The official investigation concluded in 1997 that the roll-on, roll-off ferry’s bow shield had failed, damaging the bow ramp and flooding the car deck.But a recent television documentary renewed speculation about the cause of the disaster and prompted…

18 Dec 2020

Sweden to Allow Underwater Probe of Estonia Wreck Site

(Photo: Accident Investigation Board Finland)

Sweden said on Friday it would allow an underwater examination of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic 26 years ago with the loss of 852 lives, after a documentary film showed previously unknown holes in the wreck's hull. The official investigation concluded in 1997 that the roll-on, roll-off ferry's bow shield had failed, damaging the bow ramp and flooding the car deck.However, a Discovery Network documentary shown earlier in the autumn about the disaster included new…

28 Sep 2020

Could New Evidence Shed Light on a Deadly 1994 Ferry Sinking?

An inflatable life raft from sunken RoPax ferry Estonia (Photo: Accident Investigation Board Finland)

Estonia, Sweden and Finland will look into fresh evidence on the sinking of the ferry Estonia, which went down 26 years ago on Monday with the loss of 852 lives in Europe’s worst peacetime maritime disaster since World War Two.The roll-on roll-off ferry, carrying 803 passengers and 186 crew, sank on a stormy Baltic Sea shortly after midnight on Sept. 28, 1994. The official investigation in 1997 concluded that the bow shield had failed, damaging the bow ramp and flooding the car deck.However…

23 Sep 2020

Sweden Protests Russian Breach of Its Waters

© JGade / Adobe Stock

Sweden has protested to Russia after two warships entered its territorial waters without permission, a defense department spokesman said on Wednesday, as Sweden agreed with two neighboring countries to deepen military cooperation.The spokesman said Sweden had called in Russian diplomatic representatives to protest the breach on September 14 by “two Russian corvettes which entered territorial waters near Gothenburg”.The Swedish military has also reported that a Danish military…

06 May 2019

Pompeo Warns About Russia, China Activities in Arctic

© a_medvedkov / Adobe Stock

U.S.

02 Oct 2018

Ferry with 335 People on Board Powerless in Baltic Sea

A Lithuanian-flagged ferry carrying 335 people is powerless in the Baltic Sea but no one is reported injured, a spokesman for Danish ferry company DFDS told Reuters."There was vibration and there was smoke, but no fire was noticed," the spokesman said, contradicting earlier reports from the Lithuanian military of a fire on board the vessel.He could not say whether the passengers and crew were in any danger and said the ferry would have to be towed to port.The company said the ferry would be towed to the Lithuanian port town of Klaipeda, where it was heading from Kiel in Germany when it experienced technical problems.Lithuania's Defence Ministry said "the fire has been extinguished" and that four Lithuanian military ships were heading towards the ferry and will reach it by 1500 GMT.The ferr

04 Oct 2017

Offshore Rig Firms See End to Historic Downturn

Aker BP recently awarded a contract worth up to $68 million to Odfjell Drilling for the lease of the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Stavanger in the Norwegian Sea and the Barnts Sea (Photo: Aker BP)

Demand for offshore rig rental globally is starting to recover from its worst ever downturn, led by oil firms' growing demand for harsh-environment exploration and triggering multi-billion dollar tie-ups among drillers hoping to profit, executives said. While the 2014-2016 oil price crash caused firms to cut exploration budgets, ending a boom in rig demand and bankrupting many owners, energy companies are now seeking to replenish their hydrocarbon reserves. The nascent demand for harsh-environment rigs…

30 Aug 2017

Borr Drilling Aims to Expand Fleet, Keep Costs Low

Borr Drilling, the Norwegian drilling start-up, which listed on the Oslo exchange on Wednesday, said it aimed to expand its fleet, taking advantage of its low cost base. The start-up, launched last year and backed by the world's biggest oil service firm Schlumberger, said it aimed to have the lowest cash break-even costs in the industry and would take advantage of current low prices for rigs. "We have no debt," Borr's Chief Executive Simon Johnson told Reuters after its shares started trading on Oslo's main market. They were previously listed on the over-the-counter market. "That might change in the future, depending on the financing needs, but we can control what we pay for assets," Johnson said.

26 Oct 2016

Russia Beefs Up Baltic Fleet Amid NATO Tensions

Russia is sharply upgrading the firepower of its Baltic Fleet in Kaliningrad by adding warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to counter NATO's build-up in the region, Russian media reported on Wednesday. There was no official confirmation from Moscow, but the reports will raise tensions in the Baltic, already heightened since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, and are likely to cause alarm in Poland and Lithuania which border Kaliningrad. The reported deployment comes as NATO is planning its biggest military build-up on Russia's borders since the Cold War to deter possible Russian aggression and will be seen as a riposte to that.

07 Apr 2014

Alfa Laval buys Frank Mohn for $2.17 bln

Swedish engineering group Alfa Laval said on Monday it had agreed to buy Norwegian marine and offshore pumping group Frank Mohn for 13 billion Norwegian crowns ($2.17 billion) in cash. Frank Mohn, headquartered in Bergen, Norway and with approximately 1,200 employees, posted 2013 sales of 3.4 billion crowns and had an order intake of 6.1 billion. "The acquisition, which strengthens Alfa Laval's fluid handling portfolio by adding a unique pumping technology, will further reinforce Alfa Laval`s position as a leading supplier to the marine and offshore oil & gas markets," Alfa Laval said in a statement. It said the acquisition would be positive for earnings per share from the time of completion. ($1 = 5.9970 Norwegian Krones) / Reporting by Simon Johnson