The possible closure of the Baltic Sea should “remain on the table,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Rinkevics addressed the issue of protecting critical infrastructure, stressing the need to increase patrols and impose sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet. However, he noted that almost 2,000 vessels travel through…
Latvia and Lithuania refused to accept a new package of EU sanctions against Russia that would have allowed companies to continue doing business in Russia, BNS reports. Three unnamed EU diplomats told Politico that Latvia and Lithuania blocked a clause that included exceptions allowing EU companies to continue importing and exporting sanctioned goods. The clause…
Lithuania’s state-owned company, KN Energies, has acquired the LNG carrier, Independence, from Norway’s Höegh Evi (former Höegh LNG) for EUR 138mn, BNS reports. The handover ceremony was attended by the presidents of all three Baltic States and Poland. The floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), which serves as Lithuania’s LNG terminal, arrived at the port of…
Estonian Climate Minister Yoko Alender and Finland’s Minister of Environment and Climate, Kai Mykkänen, have signed a memorandum of understanding on increased cooperation in protecting critical undersea energy infrastructure, BNS reports. Under the agreement, Estonia and Finland will set up a steering group to develop their cooperation on ensuring the resilience and security of undersea…
Estonian officials have again refuted suggestions that the rupture of the Balticconnector gas pipeline and two data cables in the Baltic Sea by the Chinese cargo ship, NewNew Polar Bear, in October 2023 was an accident, ERR reports. “You would need to find a very stupid captain” for the incident to have been an accident,…
The Maltese-flagged ship, Ruby, carrying a cargo of ammonium nitrate from Russia, is no longer headed for Lithuania’s port of Klaipeda, BNS reports. Algis Latakas, CEO of Klaipeda State Seaport, announced that the ship had removed Klaipeda as its final destination at the port’s request. He said that the ship would name its new destination…
Estonia and Finland are drawing up joint plans for increased maritime defence, Major General Andrus Merilo, commander of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), revealed, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Merilo said that the goal was to establish specific plans to close the Gulf of Finland to Russian ships if necessary. Earlier,…
Polish oil company Orlen has signed a five-year agreement with the Lithuanian oil and gas terminal operator, KN Energies, for exclusive use of a LNG reloading station in Klaipeda, Reuters reports. Under the agreement, the LNG will be delivered to the station on small ships and then transported by truck to clients in the Baltic…
Lithuania will not allow a Maltese-flagged ship carrying ammonium nitrate from Russia to dock at the port of Klaipeda for repairs, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced, BNS reports. The vessel requested permission to enter the port to unload its cargo of 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate and carry out repairs by a company in Klaipeda….
