Thomas Nilsen

The next station is Skellefteå

Swedish government announces 7 billion kroner for building North Bothnia Line high-speed railway further north to Skellefteå.
June 03, 2018

After weeks with separate war games, Norway and Russia again meet at sea for joint SAR exercise

Smile for military cooperation: Chief Officer at «KV Barentshav» Frode Urke (left) and Head of the Northern Fleet's exercise unit Aleksandr Ulyanov (in the middle) are happy to work together in the Barents Sea. The scenario is realistic; missing people and people in distress at sea and prevention of oil spill pollution.
June 02, 2018

Russia test-launched volley of ballistic nuclear missiles (video)

Never before have four Bulava missiles been launched from a single Borei-class submarine at the same time.
May 22, 2018

TASS: Russia drops plan to redesign Borei sub, will build six more of existing

The navy leg of Russia’s nuclear triad will by 2027 consist of three Borei and 11 Borei-A classes ballistic missile submarines.
May 22, 2018

White Sea Bulava launch sailing up

Large areas in the Barents Sea west of Novaya Zemlya and in the White Sea are closed off.
May 22, 2018

Arctic cruise ship boom

28 (and counting) new expedition ships capable of sailing Arctic waters are coming to the market over the next four years.
May 22, 2018

Nextjet files for bankruptcy, Europe’s northernmost cross-border flight stops

A black info-box headlined “Nextjet files for bankruptcy” covers the booking-page of the Swedish airline that for the last few years has operated the route from Oulu via Luleå to Tromsø.
May 16, 2018

Name goes on scrap heap, Statoil becomes Equinor

Oil major drops «oil» from its name, argues responsibility, better balance to effectively fight climate change. Greenwashing says Greenpeace.
May 16, 2018

No time-out for Russia, Norway business talks

Trade and Industry Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen says Norway’s one-to-one relation with Russia is good. In June, he welcomes Minister Sergey Donskoy to Oslo.
May 15, 2018

Artillery and rocket-shootings here, there, everywhere

Large area of the Barents Sea north of the Kola Peninsula closed off for shipping.
May 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