Roberto Lafforgue’s Post

🚨🇩🇪German authorities issued an arrest warrant on a🇺🇦Ukrainian citizen, part of a larger group of divers, related the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. The news comes as the🇪🇺EU gas markets are roiled, once again, by the consequences of the🇷🇺🇺🇦Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to reports from various German newspapers, after almost two years police authorities have issued the first arrest warrants linked to the sabotage and explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines. Three🇺🇦Ukrainian diving instructors have been involved in planting explosives on pipelines running from🇷🇺Russia to🇩🇪Germany under the Baltic Sea in September 2022. Yet, only one has been identified with the name of Volodymyr Z. (not a joke), has been targeted by authorities. According to reports, Germany had asked🇵🇱Poland to arrest the man in June, but he had reportedly fled the country and went into hiding. It is not known why Poland did not honour the🇪🇺EU arrest warrant within the legally required 60 days. Another man and a woman have been identified, but no arrest warrant has been issued. This event comes at a troubled time for🇪🇺EU markets. A surprise counteroffensive by🇺🇦Ukrainian forces in the🇷🇺Russia led to the seizure of the Sudzha interconnection, where Russian gas still flows to the🇪🇺EU. TTF gas prices have never been so high in 2024 and the arrest warrant could seriously further politicise gas trade in Europe. Could all this undermine European support for Ukraine in its war against Russia?

🇩🇪Germany, 🇩🇰Denmark, and 🇸🇪Sweden all opened investigations into the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. The Swedes found traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the explosion site, confirming the blasts were deliberate acts. ⚡️ The Swedish and Danish investigations were closed this February without identifying any suspect. ⚡️ According to Reuters recently, Poland received a European arrest warrant issued by Berlin in connection with the incident. However, the suspect, a Ukrainian man named Volodymyr Z, has already left Poland. ⚡️ At the end of the day, they are and will remain accusations and speculations. I don't know who is behind the incident. Many factors, such as opportunity, capability, and historical context, should also be considered when analyzing such a situation. But I will ask just one question: who will benefit from the attack? Nord Stream AG #energy #enerji #energysecurity #security #criticalinfrastructure #infrastructure #pipeline #naturalgas #oilgas #germany #russia

It's astonishing to see how modern satellite tech is helping maritime operators - catching the "dark fleet" or sanctioned vessels, detecting illegal fishing activities, prevent accidents and many more. Usually ships use so-called AIS system to ping their location so that other vessels and operators know where are you heading. But if you turn off your AIS system (which is usually done by illegal operators), you can go whenever you want and nobody knows. Not anymore. Satellites on Earth orbit can see where you are and what you are doing - day and night, in all weather conditions (thanks to special radar or SAR technology). #space #satellite #maritime

Russia still ready to resume gas supplies via Nord Stream to Europe — Novak "It seems to me that there should be an international investigation that would be more objective, including Russia’s participation," the official said MOSCOW, September 26/ Russia supports conducting an international investigation into the explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines with Moscow's participation. At the same time, Russia remains ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 2, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week. "We all know very well who was interested in blowing up the gas pipeline. And it is clear that we need to evaluate the statements and positions that some Western countries are expressing today. It seems to me that there should be an international investigation that would be more objective, including Russia’s participation," he said. "We have repeatedly said that Russia would be ready (to resume supplies - TASS) if our partners want it," he added. On August 14, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, citing a joint investigation with the ARD TV channel and Die Zeit, reported that the German Prosecutor-General's Office had issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor suspected of involvement in the Nord Streams pipeline explosions. According to the newspaper, the German prosecutor's office suspects two more Ukrainian diving instructors of involvement in the sabotage. In addition, the German mass media accused Poland of not assisting in the investigation into the gas pipeline explosions. According to German investigators, the Polish authorities were not ready to cooperate. The day before, German Cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed the issuance of the warrants. On 26 September 2022, unprecedented destruction was reported on three lines of Nord Stream and the never-commissioned Nord Stream 2. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow has no doubt that the Nord Stream explosion was carried out with the support of the United States. The Russian General Prosecutor's Office has opened a case for an act of international terrorism. #business #finance #financialservices

Back to covering the #maritime space again, this time with a deep dive into the mysterious world of “dark ships”. Such vessels are known to turn off their location trackers to avoid detection as they illegally move oil from sanctioned countries — the likes of Russia, Iran and Venezuela — around the world. The fleet size is estimated to range from 600 to 1,400. The recent hit-and-run out at sea 55km off Pedra Branca involved an alleged dark ship, which collided with a Singapore-flagged tanker and setting both ablaze. The risks are clear. Going dark poses a danger as the ships can’t be located. The vessels are also mostly old, uninspected and in poor condition, making them more prone to accidents. The fallout from such collisions can also damage the #environment such as through oil spills. The human cost is also evident as most dark ship crews work under terrible conditions. And yet they continue sailing the waters, backed by oil-exporting states looking to work around global #sanctions. Do have a read on this interesting topic, and I hope you learn from it as much as I did researching and writing it! ⚓️

A repeat offender (https://lnkd.in/exrJfjDF), the #MEHLE (IMO 9191711), a 274 meter, 25-year-old, uninsured #oil tanker, has once again been caught by maritime domain intelligence platform, Theia, spoofing her location to pick up sanctioned #Iranian oil. Flagged in #Panama, she is a prime example of a member of the ‘dark fleet’, operating between the Persian Gulf, Singapore, and China. Without oversight and evidence to prove wrongdoing conclusively, these dark fleet vessels have operated with relative impunity, transporting sanctioned oil to #China for huge profits, causing very real damage to the international rules-based order and, increasingly, the #environment. According to Paris MoU on Port State Control, a database tracking vessel #inspections as part of Port State Control, the MEHLE has not been inspected in the last year. Aging vessels, going years without proper maintenance, have caused a number of maritime disasters recently, including the explosion on the 1997-built #PABLO (IMO 9133587), which caused the death of three of its crew. #Theia gathers evidence of #maritime wrongdoing to ensure that dark vessels and the bad actors controlling them are identified and held to account. Contact SynMax to speak to an expert: https://t.co/JLOS3mfgJT. #insurance #spoofing #ais #darkvessel #satelliteimagery #ai #geospatial #mda #whyguesswhenyoucanknow

Denmark Ends Probe into Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Due to Lack of Evidence While Danish authorities confirmed deliberate sabotage as the cause, they stated, "there are not sufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case in Denmark," according to a Copenhagen police statement. Read more ▶️ https://lnkd.in/eabQ33y3 #pipelinejournal #pipelinenews #pipelineindustry #pipelines #Denmark #Sweden #Russia #Germany #NordStream2

Titan submersible enquiry: see "15:45 BST The pressure hull you could shine a torch through" at https://lnkd.in/e44en-U4

Subsea Cable Hysteria Continues: The Baltic Sea Outages First it was Russian hybrid warfare. But now it turns out the ship probably responsible for the damage is a Chinese cargo vessel. I think the Danish, German, and Finnish governments look pretty silly. Large cargo vessels often drag their anchors to stabilize the ship. They often ignore the potential to damage local infrastructure. The Chinese government is not carrying hybrid warfare for its Russian junior partner. Indeed China has strong economic ties with Europe and inflaming trade tensions is not in its self interest. Unfortunately, unscrupulous social media figures with no background or knowledge of the fibre optic subsea industry are exploiting this incident to spread misinformation. The simplest explanation is 99% of the time the right explanation. Not sabotage. But simple incompetence. Chinese cargo ships have been involved in disproportionate number of seafaring problems including blocking the Suez canal in March 2021 for 6 days, dragging an anchor through the Baltic Sea and destroying a gas pipeline, and dozens of other incidents as well. It is clear that their captains are poorly trained. I would not be surprised if they are under intense scheduling pressure which leads to bad decisions. One reason for anchor dragging is overloading a ship which makes capsizing more likely. #eu #subseacables #sabotage #balticsea https://lnkd.in/df63wtxz

This is a continuing maritime security or marsec update from Sanborn Analytics. On March 2nd, 2024, a vessel from the clandestine fleet designated to transport Russian oil encountered a collision near Denmark, shedding new light on the dangers posed by ships with undisclosed ownership in the world's seas. The Danish Maritime Authority reported the incident involving the Andromeda Star oil tanker, which is 15 years old. The event occurred on March 2nd, although the specifics remain under investigation, as stated by the authority without elaborating further. According to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, the vessel was originally slated to load Russia's primary Urals crude on March 4th at the Baltic port of Primorsk. However, it diverted its course to a repair facility in Denmark, arriving on March 17th. Although there are no indications of significant environmental repercussions resulting from the collision, it serves as another reminder of the hazards presented by the clandestine fleet to the waters, even in European nations no longer involved in trade with Moscow. Given its destination in Russia, the vessel, with a capacity of 700,000 barrels, would not have been carrying any cargo at the time of the incident. All reporting credit goes to G-Captain and Bloomberg News (see link) #maritimesecurity #russia #nationalsecurity #homelandsecurity #sanctions #denmark #unitedstates #europeanunion https://lnkd.in/e2M4vMXc