Russia’s First Homebuilt Arc7 LNG Carrier Completes Ice Trials, Adds to Arctic Traffic Off Norway Russia’s new carrier for liquefied natural gas,Alexey Kosygin, has completed a Northern Sea Route transit doubling as ice trials, underscoring Moscow’s ability to sustain Arctic LNG exports despite sanctions. The voyage expands Russia’s shadow tanker fleet and heightens maritime safety concerns for Norway.
Nominations Now Open for the High North Hero Award 2026 The "High North Hero" award will soon be awarded during the High North Dialogue conference in Bodø, northern Norway. The committee is now looking for worthy candidates.
Is It Realistic for Norwegian Fishing Vessels to Achieve Zero Emissions? A new study has examined whether fishing vessels become more environmentally friendly when diesel is replaced with batteries and hydrogen. The Study has looked at the entire lifespan of the vessel, and not just emissions during use.
Competition Launch: Win Up to 40,000 NOK for Your Arctic Start-up Last year, a company from northern Norway won the prestigious award. Now the search begins for this year's finalists for the High North Young Entrepreneur award.
Canadian Seaspan Yard Signs Deal For Arctic Security Cutters, Joining US and Finnish Builders The push for new U.S. icebreakers continues to take shape. Canadian builder Seaspan has now joined the effort by providing its Multi-Purpose Icebreaker design and associated supply chain to American and Finnish shipyards to build six icebreakers. Construction is expected to start in 2026 with initial deliveries by 2028.
Norway and Greenland Agree on Fisheries Cooperation and Quota Exchange Norway and Greenland have reached a quota agreement for 2026, reporting a reduction in the quotas from 2025.
South Korea Plans First Arctic Container Ship Test Voyage via Russia’s Northern Sea Route South Korea is preparing its first-ever container ship voyage through Russia’s Northern Sea Route, testing whether Arctic shipping can reshape Asia–Europe trade. The trial highlights Seoul’s ambitions to turn Busan into an Arctic hub, despite sanctions risks, high insurance costs and lingering geopolitical uncertainty.
U.S. Signs Contracts With Foreign and Domestic Builders to Finally Launch Long-Delayed Icebreaker Fleet Overhaul The United States Coast Guard has signed contracts with Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions and Louisiana’s Bollinger Shipyards to build six Arctic Security Cutter icebreakers, marking the culmination of a decades-long effort to modernize its aging icebreaker fleet. Two ships will be built in Finland for delivery in 2028. Four more vessels will follow in the United States, with the first domestic cutter due in 2029.
Northern Sea Route 2025 Season Concludes With Stable Transit Traffic Amid Challenging Ice Conditions The 2025 summer–autumn navigation season on Russia’s Northern Sea Route wrapped up with 103 transit voyages moving an estimated 3.2 million tons of cargo. While tanker traffic continued to dominate, bulk carriers and container ships posted notable gains, all against a backdrop of unfavorable ice conditions that limited the open-water window.
LKAB Strengthens Logistics in the North with a New Ship Loader in the Port of Narvik The Swedish mining company LKAB has inaugurated a new ship loader in the Port of Narvik, Northern Norway, which is of central importance for the company's exports.
Britain to Ban Transport of Russian LNG on UK-linked Vessels The UK continues to lead the way against Russia’s LNG sector. New measures will directly target the transport of Russian supercooled gas to markets around the world. The ban will disallow UK-linked companies from carrying the country’s gas or providing maritime services, such as insurance or maintenance, to the vessels.
NOK 2.6 million Project Aims to Get More Young People to Stay in The North The High North Center at Nord University receives support for a project highlighting opportunities for young people in the Arctic.
Russia’s LNG ‘Dark Fleet’ Returns to Norwegian Waters As Winter Closes Northern Sea Route With sea ice closing the Northern Sea Route often poorly insured shadow fleet vessels are again using the ice-free waters of the Barents Sea. A sanctioned LNG carrier traveled up and down Norway’s northern coast in recent days. Several more are set to follow.
Aker Nscale Planning Another AI Data Center in Northern Norway Aker Nscale plans to build a data center for artificial intelligence in the small town of Korgen in Nordland, Northern Norway. The construction plans could be as extensive as the company's project in Narvik, reports newspaper Rana Blad.
Major Ferrosilicon Producer Curtails Production in Northern Norway Elkem is reducing the production of ferrosilicon at one of its North Norwegian factories due to challenging market conditions. The EU's potential safeguard measures on imports of ferroalloys have further increased uncertainty, the company writes.
Cornerstone Businesses Face Uncertainty Regarding EU Measures It is still unclear whether Norway will steer clear of the EU's safeguard measures on alloy imports. For the metal industry in Northern Norway, limited market access to the EU may have big consequences.
World’s Largest Container Shipping Company MSC Again Rules Out Arctic Shipping, As Chinese Companies Push Ahead The same week a Chinese container ship is attempting to make a record-setting Northern Sea Route transit from China to the UK in 18 days, European operator MSC reaffirmed its commitment to not ship via the Arctic. The company cited environmental concerns and lack of infrastructure as key reasons.
Construction Start for Fossil-Free Steel Plant in Northern Sweden: “Historic for Swedish Industry” SSAB has started construction of the company's new steel plant in Luleå, Northern Sweden. The steel plant is to produce fossil-free steel and will contribute to lowering Sweden's total CO2 emissions with a whopping 7 percent.
The Relocation of Kiruna: "The State Need to Contribute With More Land and Economic Support" The ongoing relocation of the city of Kiruna in Northern Sweden has reached a critical point at which LKAB and the municipality ask the state for significant financial support and release of a larger area in order for the mining operations to continue.
Survey for Arctic Way Soon to Be Completed Bodø, Northern Norway (High North News): The seabed survey for the subsea cable Arctic Way will soon be completed. It will replace the old cable to Svalbard, but also establish a connection to Jan Mayen.
Deepening Russia-China Relations Continue to Drive Oil, Gas, and Container Traffic Along Arctic Shipping Lane Arctic transit shipping continues to be dominated by Russian-Chinese economic ties, a new CHNL analysis shows. Though an upcoming expansion of container service will bring Western European ports into the mix.
Northvolt Acquisition: Announcing New Leadership for Battery Company US-based battery company Lyten recently entered into an agreement to acquire remaining Northvolt assets in Europe, including its factory in Skellefteå, Northern Sweden. Lyten has also announced key roles in the new leadership following the acquisition.
U.S. Awards Construction Contract for First Phase of Expanding Nome into Arctic Deepwater Port Construction of America’s first Arctic deepwater port in Nome, Alaska is set to begin, almost two decades after first being proposed. The Army Corps of Engineers awarded a construction contract for Phase 1A of the project to Kiewit Infrastructure West, with completion expected by September 2029.
Wants to Assess Possibility of Nuclear Power in Svalbard Svalbard kjernekraft AS has submitted a proposal for assessing the possibility of nuclear power to the Governor of Svalbard.
Wants to Assess Possibility of Nuclear Power in Svalbard Svalbard kjernekraft AS has submitted a proposal for assessing the possibility of nuclear power to the Governor of Svalbard.
China Launches 18-Day Arctic Express Containership Route To Europe With Stops in UK, Germany, Poland A Chinese shipping company is set to launch the first liner-type container shipping route via the Arctic. The service will begin in September connecting three ports in China to four destinations in Western Europe. The country’s Ministry of Transport has begun to release live sea ice monitoring to improve safety for Arctic shipping.
Mining Company Nussir Resumes Tunnel Work in Northern Norway The mining company Nussir has resumed work in the copper mine in Hammerfest, Northern Norway, after pausing it on June 16th.
Norwegian Billionaire Pledges Over 300,000 Dollars to Support the Iditarod in 2026 Kjell Inge Røkke, chairman of Aker ASA, has pledged more than $300,000 to support the Iditarod 2026. He will also participate in the race through their new expedition mushing program.
Mining in Northern Norway Started Ahead of Schedule - Then Put on Hold On June 16th, Canadian Blue Moon Metals announced that it had started underground construction of the Nussir mine in Finnmark and thereby completed its first blast ahead of schedule. Shortly after, all operations were paused until further notice.
Cause of Extensive Iron Ore Line Derailment in Northern Sweden Found The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority has found the cause of the December 2023 derailment on the Iron Ore Line, which led to a two-month stop in traffic on the crucial railway line in the north.
Russia to Earn $160bn in Taxes From Northern Sea Route by 2035, Arctic Region Accounts for 7.5 Percent of GDP New government figures highlight the critical role the Arctic plays in Russia’s economy. Projects along the main shipping corridor may generate massive tax revenues over the next decade and account for growing share of the country’s export and GDP.
Finland Invests in Future Railway to Norway and Sweden Finland has started planning a future railway connection stretching from northern Finland to Narvik in northern Norway. The project aims to change the Finnish track gauge to the Swedish and Norwegian standard, thereby connecting Finland closer to its neighboring countries.
Mining Company LKAB in Northern Sweden Gets Approval for Green Shift Work The Swedish National Audit Office approves the mining company LKAB's work on the green transformation of its operations. Whether the initiative is profitable is still uncertain.
Russia’s Arctic ‘Yamal LNG’ Gas Plant Saw a Record 287 Cargo Loadings in 2024 While Western sanctions have impeded or complicated much of Russia’s energy economy, the Yamal LNG plant continues to export liquefied gas like clockwork. Every month around 25 vessels load cargo at the Sabetta terminal, for a total of 287 deliveries in 2024, new data by Center for High North Logistics show.
EU Imports of Russian LNG Decrease by One-Third During Month of April For the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas have recorded a significant drop. Figures for April indicate a 35 percent reduction in deliveries in comparison to the same period last year. But it remains unclear if the reduction is just a temporary decline or the beginnings of a shift away from supercooled gas from Russia.
China Looking to Buy More Russian Arctic LNG as EU Aims to Announce Plans in May to Phase Out Imports As the EU is gearing up to publish its roadmap to phase out Russian LNG, China’s appetite for deliveries of supercooled gas from the Arctic could see a rise in the coming months. Whether China will also welcome cargoes from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project remains a key question.
Challenging Situation for the Swedish Forest Industry The combination of high costs and low demand is hitting Swedish sawmills, pulp, and paper producers hard. Increased trade barriers are also creating uncertainty for the industry.
US Government Investigates Strategic Importance of Northern Sea Route as Part of Study on Maritime Chokepoints The U.S. government’s Federal Maritime Commission has initiated an investigation of global maritime chokepoints. In addition to more traditional passages like the Suez Canal, it has also included the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route in the upcoming study. According to the FMC the route has the potential to reshape global trade patterns.
Trumps New Tariffs: Could Be Challenging for Parts of the Norwegian Seafood Industry "Despite good export numbers, we are now facing an uncertain time for the world trade with increased tariffs," says the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, about the situation in the seafood industry.
Elias and his team want to turn an ocean problem into fish feed – and they just won an international prize for it Turning a marine problem into a sustainable business idea has earned Marine Spark X the prestigious 2025 High North Young Entrepreneur Award.
Russia Continues Working on Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 With Wison Power Modules Installation and Gas Flaring New satellite images reveal the progress Novatek has made at the Arctic LNG 2 project. Power units delivered by Chinese company Wison appear installed and recent gas flaring suggest a temporary re-start or test start-up of the facility.
The First Rocket Launch at Andøya: Exploded on The Ground Seconds After Launch Shortly after the launch of the first test rocket for Isar Aerospace at Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway, the rocket fell and exploded on the ground. Andøya Space has set up a crisis team.
The Noise of Boring Taxes Debate Cannot Drown Out the Gravity We’re Facing Comment (Narvik): In October last year, I sat in Reykjavik and wrote about how contradictory it was that Russia's war against Ukraine created optimism in the Arctic. The defense industry was a new area of investment. The question that remained unanswered was whether the business sector in the North was to connect to the "new" industry.
Battery Company Northvolt Files For Bankruptcy After major losses and production issues, the battery company Northvolt has declared bankruptcy in Sweden. The bankruptcy affects the company's factory in Skellefteå, Northern Sweden, among other locations.
"More Important Than Ever to Discuss the Future of The High North" The High North Dialogue conference is coming up in Bodø at the end of March. "This year’s conference is more important than ever", says the project manager.
Trump Doubles Down on Alaska LNG Project Citing South Korean, Japanese Support Trump touts plans for “giant” Alaska LNG project with South Korean and Japanese support as he pushes for American energy independence. However, specifics remain scarce and even with Asian support the economics of the project remain in question, especially with a number of cheaper LNG projects coming online in the coming years.
America's Largest Annual Arctic Policy and Business Event Postponed The largest annual Arctic policy and business event in the US—The Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska—has been rescheduled just three weeks before it was due to welcome hundreds of international speakers and attendees.
EU Paid Near 300% More for Russian LNG in 2024 Compared to Early 2021 Not only is the EU importing record levels of LNG from Russia, it is also paying a substantially higher price than before the Ukraine War, new Eurostat data reveal. At the end of 2024 the cost was nearly four times as high as at the beginning of 2021.
Andreas Raspotnik Appointed as New Director for High North Center Raspotnik will take over as director from April 1.
EU Countries Spent Close to €7bn on Russian LNG in 2024 Europe cannot shake its addiction to Russian liquefied natural gas. Throughout 2024 EU members purchased liquefied gas from Russia worth almost €7bn. Some member states continue to spend more on their purchases of Russian LNG than they provide in military aid to Ukraine.
