Nord Stream has secured 3.9 billion euros in financing allowing it to start building a pipeline to pump Russian natural gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the funds will come from 26 banks with loan guarantees secured for 80% of the financing from the Italian and German credit agencies Sace and Hermes.
Posts Tagged ‘Baltic Sea’
Construction of Nord Stream approved
February 12th, 2010 |
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A Finnish environmental agency on Friday approved plans to build a natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. This was the final permit needed for the underwater energy link between Russia and Germany, reports said.
‘Ransom demand’ for missing ship
August 15th, 2009 |
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Finnish police say a ransom demand has been made for a missing Russian-manned cargo vessel, the Arctic Sea.
The demand – which has not been confirmed as genuine – was put to the ship’s Finnish owners, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said.
A Finnish radio station said it had been told the 15 crew members’ lives would be at risk if it was not paid.
Mystery surrounds the location of the Arctic Sea, last sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July.
The 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been carrying timber, went off radar after passing through the English Channel.
A recent sighting off Africa’s Cape Verde islands is still to be confirmed.
Click here for a map charting reported sightings of the Arctic SeaThere has been huge speculation over the reason for the ship’s disappearance, ranging from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial quarrel.
The matter is being jointly investigated by Finnish, Maltese and Swedish police.
A Finnish police spokesman, Mikko Paatero, said he was unable at this stage to say whether the ransom demand made to the ship’s owners, Solchart Management, was legitimate.
"The police cannot really speculate," he said. "We need to base our investigation on existing criminal reports, and in this case there are reports of hijacking and aggravated blackmail."
Markku Ranta-Aho, of the National Bureau of Investigation, told Finland’s YLE national radio that the demand was for "a largish amount of money".
He said he would not give further details or say where the ship might be located for fear of endangering the crew.
Cape Verde officials say they think the ship is 400 nautical miles (740km) off one of the islands.
But the Russian ambassador to Cape Verde, Alexander Karpushin, said he had not been officially informed of any sighting and told Russia’s RAI news agency the information was "not true".
A source linked to the Cape Verde coastguard told AFP news agency the Arctic Sea was outside its territorial waters.
The coastguard was informing maritime officials about the ship’s movements, the source said, adding: "When the ship enters our jurisdiction, we will decide in consultation with our partners what actions to take."
Some reports have put the ship 400 nautical miles north of the Cape Verdean island of Sao Vicente.
French intelligence said it had found a ship matching the Arctic Sea’s description in the area. The Portuguese military would not confirm one of its planes had flown over the vessel.
Last known contact
Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (£1.1m), the Arctic Sea sailed from Finland and had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August.
"It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with ‘traditional’ acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea"
Martin Selmayr
EU Commission
The crew reported being boarded by up to 10 armed men as the ship sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours.
There are also reports of the ship being attacked a second time off the Portuguese coast. However the ship’s operators said they had no knowledge of the incident and Portugal said the ship was never in its territorial waters.
The last known contact with the crew was when the Arctic Sea reported to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait.
On Friday, European Union Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said: "From information currently available it would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with ‘traditional’ acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea."
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Mystery remains over cargo vessel
August 15th, 2009 |
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Mystery still surrounds a missing Russian-manned cargo ship, with a sighting off Africa’s Cape Verde islands still to be confirmed.
The Arctic Sea, with 15 Russian crew members on board, was last sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July.
Cape Verde officials say they think the ship is 400 nautical miles (740km) off one of the islands.
But Moscow’s envoy to Cape Verde said he had not been informed of any confirmed sighting.
The 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been carrying timber, went off radar after passing through the English Channel.
Click here for a map charting sightings of the Arctic SeaThere has been huge speculation over the reason for its disappearance, ranging from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial quarrel.
A source linked to the Cape Verde coastguard told AFP news agency the Arctic Sea was outside its territorial waters.
The coastguard was informing maritime officials about the ship’s movements, the source said, adding: "When the ship enters our jurisdiction, we will decide in consultation with our partners what actions to take."
Some reports have put the ship 400 nautical miles north of Sao Vicente.
French intelligence said it had found a ship matching the Arctic Sea’s description in the area.
The Portuguese military would not confirm one of its planes had flown over the vessel.
However, the Russian ambassador to Cape Verde, Alexander Karpushin, said he had not been officially informed of the sighting and told Russia’s RAI agency the sighting was "not true".
Tom Wilkerson, chief executive officer of the US Naval Institute, told the BBC the disappearance raised a number of concerns.
"What we’re looking at is a ship that’s over 4,000 tonnes, with no transponder working, that now all of the world’s searching capability has not been able to find.
"Just because the ship doesn’t appear to have anything on it of value doesn’t mean that someone can’t place something there that could be very valuable, and also very dangerous."
Last known contact
Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (£1.1m), the Arctic Sea sailed from Finland and had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August.
"It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with ‘traditional’ acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea."
Martin Selmayr
EU Commission
The crew reported being boarded by up to 10 armed men as the ship sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours.
There are also reports of the ship being attacked a second time off the Portuguese coast. However the ship’s operators said they had no knowledge of the incident and Portugal said the ship was never in its territorial waters.
The last known contact with the crew was when the Arctic Sea reported to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait.
On Friday, the European Union Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said: "From information currently available it would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with ‘traditional’ acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea."
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This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Russian navy joins hunt for ship
August 12th, 2009 |
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Russia’s navy has been deployed to find a ship reportedly hijacked three weeks ago in the Baltic Sea.
Up to five vessels – reported to include nuclear submarines – will be involved in the search for the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, the navy confirmed.
It has a 15-strong Russian crew and was reportedly taking timber worth $1.5m (£900,000) from Finland to Algeria when it was boarded by gunmen on 24 July.
The Arctic Sea was last sighted off the north coast of France on 30 July.
British authorities say the 4,000-tonne vessel may have been spotted subsequently by a Portuguese coastal patrol aircraft, but its current location remains unknown.
Click here for a map charting sightings of the Arctic SeaMassive search
"All Russian navy ships in the Atlantic have been sent to join the search for the Arctic Sea," Russia’s naval commander, Adm Vladimir Vysotsky, was quoted as saying by Moscow’s Itar-Tass news agency.
"There didn’t seem anything suspicious when contact was made. It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head"
Mark Clark
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
"All the information-intelligence systems of our armed forces, including the space-borne systems, the system of identification of sea vessels and others, have been calibrated to look for the missing ship," he said.
Operations will be centred on the patrol ship Ladny, a guided missile frigate which is part of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
UK authorities, which made contact with the Arctic Sea before it entered the busy shipping waters of the English channel, described the situation as "bizarre".
"Who would think that a hijacked ship could pass through one of the most policed and concentrated waters in the world" said Mark Clark of the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
"There didn’t seem anything suspicious when contact was made," he added. "It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head by a hijacker when contact was made, but who knows"
The Finnish shipping line operating the ship reportedly said it was boarded by up to 10 armed men claiming to be anti-drugs police as it sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July.
But the intruders are reported to have left the vessel 12 hours later on an inflatable boat, and it is unclear who is in current command of the ship.
Commercial dispute
The Arctic Sea had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August.
While world leaders have become increasingly concerned about pirates operating off the coast of Somalia, maritime experts suggest the case of the Arctic Sea reflects a different kind of piracy.
Nick Davis, who runs the private security firm Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, told the BBC’s Today programme the relatively low value of the cargo suggested the ship’s seizure may be the result of a "commercial dispute" in which one party had decided to "take matters into their own hands".
But he added: "Piracy is piracy – if someone’s wanting to take that vessel, and they’re not authorised, and they use a speedboat to go and get it, then it’s no different to what the Somalis do."
Relatives of the Arctic Sea’s 15 crew members – all of whom are said to come from the northern Russian port city of Arkhangelsk – have so far been unwilling to speak to the media.
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Hunt on for ‘hijacked cargo ship’
August 12th, 2009 |
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A cargo ship may have travelled through the English Channel after being hijacked by pirates, coastguards say.
A search has begun to find the 15 Russian crew of the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, which reports say was boarded by hijackers in the Baltic sea.
UK authorities made contact before it entered the Strait of Dover but the Russian navy told the Itar-Tass agency it was now looking for the ship.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the situation was "bizarre".
Spokesman Mark Clark said: "Who would think that a hijacked ship could pass through one of the most policed and concentrated waters in the world
"It seems strange to think that a ship which had been hijacked was passing along the channel along with ships carrying day-trippers going over to Calais for the day."
‘Extremely curious’
Hijackers may have been coercing the ship’s crew when they made radio contact with coastguards at Dover on 28 July, the MCA fears.
Reports say Swedish authorities were told by the Finnish shipping line operating the 3,988-tonne ship that it was boarded by up to 10 armed men claiming to be anti-drugs police as it sailed through the Baltic sea on July 24.
"It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head"
Mark Clark
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
The intruders apparently left the vessel – which was carrying about £1m worth of sawn timber from Finland to Algeria – 12 hours later on an inflatable boat after damaging the Arctic Sea’s communications equipment.
But on 3 August, Interpol told Dover Coastguard that the crew had been hijacked in the Baltic Sea and asked UK authorities to be alert as the vessel passed through the channel.
By then the ship had already left the Strait of Dover and was last recorded off the coast of Brest, northern France, just before 0130 BST on 30 July.
The MCA said it was told the vessel had seemingly been spotted subsequently by a Portuguese coastal patrol aircraft but its current location was unknown.
Mr Clark said the person on board whom coastguards had spoken to had told them the ship was due to arrive in Bejaia, northern Algeria, on 4 August at 2300 BST.
He added: "There is no coastguard I know who can remember anything like this happening.
"There didn’t seem anything suspicious when contact was made. It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head by a hijacker when contact was made but who knows
"We are extremely curious to find out what could have happened to this vessel."
‘No different’
World leaders have become increasingly concerned about pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.
But Nick Davis, who runs the private security firm Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, told the BBC’s Today programme that the relatively low value of the cargo suggested this was a different kind of piracy to that seen off the coast of East Africa.
He said: "Piracy is piracy – if someone’s wanting to take that vessel, and they’re not authorised, and they use a speedboat to go and get it, then it’s no different to what the Somalis do.
"However, I don’t believe they would have boarded that vessel firing weapons in the air, and threatening to kill the crew.
"Whilst it is piracy, it’s not like what we know in Somalia."
Russian authorities have said they have been assessing the situation and Navy vessels have been notified, according to Itar-Tass.
Vladimir Kochurov, deputy head of the Arkhangelsk regional administration’s transport department, told the agency that there was "scarce information" about the Arctic Sea.
He added: "Security services are holding the investigation.
"Meanwhile, the regional administration is ready for rapid reaction in case the situation clarifies. We will give assistance to the crew."
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.