Concise news summaries, often with the benefit of at least 24 hours of hindsight
Two small-scale Russian producers of liquefied natural gas located on the shores of the Baltic Sea have suspended supplies, ship-tracking data showed on Thursday as US sanctions kicked in.
Washington last month introduced new sanctions against Russia in response to its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, including against the Portovaya LNG and Kryogaz-Vysotsk plants, with a grace period until 27 February.
Kryogaz-Vysotsk, controlled by Novatek and Gazprombank, last dispatched a cargo on 18 February, with delivery to Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal on 22 February, ship-tracking data show. The data also show that Portovaya LNG’s last cargo was delivered to customers in mid-January.
A tanker called Pearl, formerly known as Pskov, was last loaded with gas from Portovaya earlier this month and is anchored in the Gulf of Finland, along with the Velikiy Novgorod, a gas carrier that is also servicing the project.
Source: Reuters
Poland risks undermining efforts to revive fisheries in the Baltic Sea, Swedish representatives in the European Parliament have warned.
In a letter sent to the Polish government, the five Swedish MEPs who sit on the parliament’s fisheries committee have asked whether its aim of achieving a better balance between the interests of the fishing industry and environmental concerns will mean removing emergency measures to address past mismanagement of the Baltic Sea fisheries.
The measures were first implemented in 2019 and have been accompanied by drastically reduced quotas, in some cases closing fisheries entirely on the advice of biologists.
Poland currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, which sets the direction for the 27-member bloc. In an address to the fisheries council last month, the country’s fisheries minister said Poland was committed to sustainable fisheries practices, as well as protecting economic opportunities for fishermen.
Source: SR
Amid Swedish fears of Russian expansionism in the Baltic, local authorities in Ystad say they are preparing for a situation in which they receive refugees from Bornholm.
Ystad is a Swedish council, but it is the mainland port for the primary ferry serving the Danish island.
The Swedish military considers Bornholm, along with other Baltic islands, as targets of potential Russian attacks, and that has led Ystad council to include refugees from the island in its civil-defence planning.
Police on Bornholm are responsible for co-ordinating civil defence. In the event of an attack, they say their directions would come from Copenhagen, but Ystad officials have called for co-ordination at the council level with Bornholm.
Source: Ystad Allehanda / TV2/Bornholm
The number of overnight stays on Bornholm grew marginally in 2024, but more visitors outside of the summer season and an increase in the number of visitors from non-core markets suggests that the island’s second-largest industry may be poised for growth in the years to come.
End-of-year statistics published by Destination Bornholm, the island’s tourism board, show the number of overnight stays rose at an annual rate of 0.1% in 2024, to 1,691,257.
Denmark and Germany remained the two largest markets for Bornholm’s 4.1 billion kroner (€550 million) tourism industry. Though fewer Danes and Germans are visiting during the July-August high season, the decline has been somewhat made up by an increase in the number of visitors in shoulder seasons. The result is a tourism season that now spans from March to December.
Destination Bornholm highlighted significant—if small—increases in the numbers of visitors from emerging markets, including France, Italy, the UK and America, that it reckons could make up for the high-season decline.
Finnish and Swedish authorities are investigating a possible breach of the C-Lion 1 undersea cable linking Finland and Germany, Yle, a Finnish news outlet, reports.
The location of the break is reported to be near the island of Gotland in the Swedish economic zone, where a number of subsea cables have been damaged in recent months.
The cause of the break was not immediately known, and it may be due to the previous damage done the cable, a source told Yle.
The C-Lion 1 submarine cable, operated by Cinia, a Finland-based firm, was last damaged on Christmas Day. Finnish authorities believe that break was caused by the Eagle S, an oil tanker suspected of acting on Moscow’s orders. The same cable was also damaged last November.
Source: Yle