Around the polar world

Ten-year-old Mina Floriana Read and her father, Alexander Read, have completed the 600-kilometre expedition Svalbard South to North after 44 days in the Arctic. The expedition combines polar history, family bonds, climate awareness, and scientific research in some of the world’s most demanding natural environments.

Several of the Russian Navy’s most powerful warships are reported to have departed from the naval base in Severomorsk towards a sealed-off exercise area north of the Kola Bay.

Aleksei Penshin has been officially appointed as the new mayor of Pechenga, a municipality bordering Norway and Finland. The 40-year-old politician, previously head of the Northern Fleet town of Zaozersk, was inaugurated on March 11, 2026.

Only days after the Arctic Metagaz loaded liquefied natural gas in the Ura Bay, Kola Peninsula, the carrier was hit by a drone outside Malta.

The Norwegian Coast Guard has approved a request for shelter from bad weather in Isfjorden for Melkart 3 and 4 and has granted the vessels permission to seek refuge there following fishing activity along the coast of Svalbard.

Sylvi Listhaug is calling for the opening of a new coal mine on Svalbard as well as the construction of a new coal-fired power plant in Longyearbyen. She justifies the proposal not only on economic grounds but also in terms of security policy, viewing it as a contribution to Norway’s presence and sovereignty in the Arctic.