Atle Staalesen

World's most powerful conventional icebreaker will rarely go Arctic

The diesel-engined Viktor Chernomyrdin has officially entered service in the Baltic Sea. It might never be seen in Arctic waters.
November 04, 2020

Moscow pushes for more Arctic drilling

Prime Minister Mishustin wants to tap into vast oil and gas resources on the Arctic shelf and commissions his cabinet ministers to make a plan for big drilling.
November 03, 2020

COVID spreads in north Norwegian garrisons

The far northern military base of Setermoen is almost paralyzed as more than 20 soldiers test positive on the coronavirus and 1,000 are in quarantine.
November 02, 2020

Drillship explores northern Kara Sea

Never before has a well been drilled in these waters, says Rosneft as exploration vessel "Bavenit" moves into the northern Kara Sea.
November 02, 2020

Behind Putin's new Arctic Strategy lies a rude quest for natural resources

The new guiding document for Russia's vast Arctic territories includes plenty of focus on oil, natural gas and shipping, and only few words about climate change and green energy.
October 30, 2020

Arctic developers present new LNG carrier for year-round shipments on Northern Sea Route

A completely new icebreaking hull form will enable the ships to traverse the most icy parts of the shipping route all through the year.
October 29, 2020

The ice cold Arctic winds of Berlevåg might propel the world towards a great green shift

The power generated at the local wind farm in Berlevåg is to be used to produce hydrogen and green ammonia. Industry developers believe the far northern town will develop into a hub for renewable energy that ultimately can offer zero emission fuel to ships operating in northern waters.
October 29, 2020

Government held back information about Norwegian oil along border to Russia

Norwegian legislators in 2013 officially opened up for drilling in waters adjacent to the country's maritime border to Russia. They did not know about the government report that concluded drilling in the area was most probably unprofitable.
October 27, 2020

Quicker internet comes to Novaya Zemlya

Servicemen in the remote and militarized Arctic archipelago have reason to rejoice as they get smoother access the world wide web.
October 26, 2020

Nornickel is "cynical and socially irresponsible", says Russia's top legislator

Following a parliament visit to the far northern company town of Norilsk, the Federation Council and its Speaker Valentina Matvienko expresses shock and outrage about company mismanagement and massive pollution in the Arctic.
October 23, 2020

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Atle is journalist and Publisher of the Independent Barents Observer.

In 2002, he founded the Barents Observer. He was editor until 2009 and later worked as journalist and project coordinator for several European cross-border cooperation projects. In late 2015, following a conflict over editorial rights, he re-established the Barents Observer as an independent and non-profit stock company along with the rest of the newspaper crew.  

Atle has a degree in Russian studies from the University of Oslo and studied journalism at the Moscow State University.

atle@thebarentsobserver.com
@atlestaalesen