Thomas Nilsen

Ports without shore-power will be losers in future cruise ship market

Norway aims at being in the forefront in Europe of providing shore electricity to cut emission, but that might be a challenge at ports in the high north where power line capacity is limited.
June 22, 2018

Navy exercise: Ship traffic stopped between Norway and Murmansk

Civilian vessels with daily rates of up to $10,000 are lining up in the Norwegian-Russian maritime border area waiting for the Northern Fleet to stop shooting.
June 21, 2018

Sweden starts building first ever fossil-free steel test-factory

A significant green step is taken outside Luleå for an industry that accounts for about a quarter of direct CO2 emissions in global industry production.
June 21, 2018

Iron-ore mine restarts production

Four years after Northland Resources filed for bankruptcy, production of iron-ore concentrate starts at Kaunisvaara outside Pajala on July 18.
June 19, 2018

Museum note reveals that nuke-sub struck by deadly fire was on mission outside Lofoten

June 12, 1984: It is Cold War and the Soviet nuclear submarine K-131 is under the surface just outside Northern Norway when the fire alarm sounded. Hours later, 13 of the crew members are dead.
June 19, 2018

Northern Fleet’s new amphibious assault ship can carry 13 tanks and 300 marines

The warship will be handed over for service on June 20 after years of delay and test-sailings.
June 19, 2018

Russia raises retirement age by five to eight years, but still special rules in the north

We live longer, are active longer, and therefore we need to work longer, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev argues as he presents what is a highly controversial law in Russia.
June 18, 2018

More NATO warships to Northern Norway

Several naval vessels are sailing in the Ofoten area and will make port calls to Narvik
June 18, 2018

Glonass-M navigation satellite launched from Plesetsk

25th satellite in Russia’s equivalent to GPS is now in operation.
June 18, 2018

Russia says U.S. Marines in Norway destabilises situation

Strong-worded message from Russia’s Oslo Embassy warns about consequences of U.S. Marines based in Norway.
June 15, 2018

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Thomas Nilsen is editor of the Independent Barents Observer with its news desk located in Kirkenes, northern Norway. He has a long experience in media cooperation across the borders in the high north of Europe, both as radio- and newspaper reporter all the way back to the days before the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Nilsen has been editor of Barents Observer since 2009.

He was Deputy Head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat from 2004-2009. Until 2003, he worked 12 years for the Bellona Foundation’s Russian study group, focusing on nuclear safety issues and general environmental challenges in northern areas and the Arctic. 

Thomas has been traveling extensively across northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia since the late 80’s working for different media and organizations. He is also a guide at sea and in remote locations in the Russian north for various groups and regularly lectures on security issues, environmental and socio-economic development.

Thomas Nilsen studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Mobile: +47-90573143

thomas@thebarentsobserver.com
@nilsen.thomas