(Bloomberg) –Poland opened a canal linking the Baltic Sea with a lagoon whose only previous entrance went through Russian territorial waters.
The canal will eventually give seafaring vessels easier access to the city of Elblag but only once the lagoon is deepened and its port facilities enhanced. Critics have said the over-budget, 2.2 billion zloty ($467 million) project isn’t viable and is risky for the environment.
“Today, we are proving once again that Poland is a serious country,” ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said during an opening ceremony, which was broadcast live on the country’s main public television channel. “No one is able to stop us in such initiatives, we finish what we started.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda delivers his speech at the opening ceremony of the shipping canal through the Vistula Spit in Skowronki, Poland, 17 September 2022. Micha? Ryniak/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS Members of the Special Forces of Military Police attend the opening ceremony of the shipping canal through the Vistula Spit in Skowronki, Poland, 17 September 2022. Micha? Ryniak/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERSA general view of the new shipping canal through the Vistula Spit in Skowronki, Poland, 17 September 2022. Micha? Ryniak/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS
Saturday’s opening was timed to coincide with the 83rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Poland in the early days of World War II. The canal will allow ships to sail in out of the Vistula Lagoon, east of Gdansk, without obtaining authorization from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania.
Tsakos Energy Navigation CEO Dr. Nikos Tsakos says geopolitical turmoil and the rapid expansion of shadow tanker trading have created a severe shortage of high-quality vessels, pushing charter rates to levels rarely seen in the industry. Speaking during a recent investor presentation, Tsakos said nearly a third of the global tanker fleet has been sidelined by sanctions, leaving oil majors scrambling for compliant tonnage and reshaping global energy trade routes.
A Russian container ship captain has been sentenced to six years in prison after a fatal North Sea collision that killed a Filipino seafarer and triggered an eight-day fire following the release of aviation fuel from an anchored tanker.
China is asking state firms to halt talks over new projects in Panama, as part of Beijing’s broader retaliation after the Central American country voided CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s contract to operate two ports along its strategic canal, according to people familiar with the matter.
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