NATO and its Greenland defense plans
NATO is to conduct a series of integrated exercises to test and exercise plans for the defense of the High North and Greenland. A keynote of the plans is the engagement of numerous NATO nations but also use of NATO command and control structures.
British involvement in the plan was announced by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the Munich Security Conference last week. The United Kingdom will deploy a Royal Navy carrier strike group (CSG) led by HMS Prince of Wales (R09) supported by Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon (D35), a frigate, a nuclear attack submarine and a logistics support vessel.
German icebreaker malfunctions impacting LNG imports
German officials and the company Deutsche ReGas have been scrambling to deal with the impact of harsh winter conditions on the Baltic. Reports indicate that a malfunctioning icebreaker and heavy ice conditions are impacting the operations of one of Germany’s LNG import terminals.
According to some of the reports, the terminal, which is based on the LNG vessel Neptune (145,000 cbm), which Deutsche ReGas established as a floating storage and regasification unit at Mukran, has run out of gas and stopped shipments. The company, however, says the terminal remains fully operational despite current challenging weather conditions.
Pakistan floats proposal to the US for developing Arabian sea port
Pakistan has reportedly proposed the development of a new port in Pasni, Balochistan—situated along the Arabian Sea, about 70 miles from the Chinese-built Gwadar Port—as part of a plan to position itself as a key exporter of critical minerals to the United States. The offer, reported by a UK-based daily, is seen as part of Islamabad’s efforts to deepen engagement with President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to the report, the Pasni Port proposal was discussed informally with certain US officials and shared with Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Army Chief, ahead of his meeting with President Trump at the White House late last month. However, a senior US official clarified that the president and his advisers had not formally discussed such a proposal.
Arctic ship traffic hits record high in 2025
Ship traffic in the Arctic reached a new milestone in 2025, with 1,812 unique vessels operating inside the Polar Code area, according to new data released by the Arctic Council Working Group on the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME). The figures mark a 40 percent increase from 2013, when PAME began tracking traffic through its Arctic Ship Traffic Data (ASTD) system.
The growth underscores how rapidly the Arctic is transforming into an active commercial maritime zone. While the first modern commercial voyages along Russia’s Northern Sea Route began only in 2009, shipping activity has accelerated alongside expanding oil, gas, mining, and fishing operations.
USS Ford likely to set post-vietnam deployment record
The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has been redeployed from Venezuela to the Mideast to join a growing accumulation of forces aimed at persuading the government of Iran to give up its nuclear program. Ford is under way and about two weeks out from the Eastern Mediterranean, according to Fox News.
At present, Ford has been deployed and on tasking for 237 days; by the time that she arrives in theater, it will be about 250. Adding as little as 20 days on station and two weeks returning to Norfolk, and Ford could beat the post-Vietnam deployment record set by USS Harry S. Truman in 2021 (285 days). If her time in theater extends for months – as it plausibly could, if negotiations are as protracted as they were during the Venezuelan campaign – she could surpass the all-time record set by USS Midway in 1972-3, during the peak of Operation Linebacker.
The Navy has repeatedly warned that extra-long, extended deployments take a toll on readiness, starting with maintenance. Yard period schedules get deferred; equipment gets worn down, adding to the repair scope when the ship returns; and the crew have to put off plans for reuniting with their families.
Pakistan’s trade with India is rising
Despite recent military tensions straining bilateral relations, trade between India and Pakistan has shown unexpected resilience. According to figures from the State Bank of Pakistan, imports from India surged to $220.58 million in FY25, up from $206.89 million in FY24—a 6.62 percent increase over the previous year’s $190.04 million.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s exports to India remained relatively low, holding steady at $1.43 million in FY25. This marks a sharp drop from FY24, when exports rose dramatically to $3.669 million, compared to just $0.329 million the year before.
While trade between India and Pakistan expanded in FY25, the imbalance also deepened—Pakistan’s imports from India exceeded exports by over $200 million. More broadly, Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries ballooned by 29.42 percent, reaching $12.297 billion in FY25, up from $9.502 billion the previous year.
Captain pleads not guilty
The slow-moving prosecution of the master of the Hong Kong-registered containership NewNew Polar Bear took its next step on Wednesday, February 11. Captain Wan Wenguo officially entered a plea of not guilty in a Hong Kong court to the charges that his vessel, in October 2023, damaged telecom cables and a gas pipeline in the Baltic.
Chinese officials had promised to cooperate in the effort after Finnish prosecutors identified the containership as the suspect in the anchor-dragging incident that damaged the infrastructure. China announced it would prosecute Wan, a 44-year-old Chinese national, and he made his first court appearance in May 2025. In January 2026, the defense team requested more time to review the evidence against the captain.