Paldiski is not a beautiful city, but it’s definitely getting livelier since my last visit in 1998. The harbour is expanding – and at the same time the risks for further environmental destruction are getting bigger. We met up with some locals and were happy that they were trying to become watchdogs for the development. Paldiski is a former Soviet nuclear submarine base, and even though the active nuclear fuel was removed when the Russians left the town in 1994, all the waste can still be found buried a few kilometers from the town and the harbour. Unfortunately nuclear waste is not the only environmental hazard we found in the town.

We enjoyed soft beds and a friendly atmosphere in the only B&B in the town, and delicious meals in the passenger terminal café in the harbour. Slowly mission impossible turned into mission possible. Within 24 hours the little land team of Jacob from Denmark & me had established relations to both the Ministries in Estonia and the media. I would like to send greetings and say thank you to all the people that helped us and listened to us in Estonia, from the car rental guy to the secretary of the minister who was trying to help me find a doctor for my running eye the evening before a big TV interview…

The coverage in Estonian media has been incredible. Check out for example Postimees or Eesti Päevaleht - and trust me, I will never fail to mention that I was visiting Estonian national TV’s morning program for a full 11 minutes Thursday morning. According to Andy Warhol, I still have four minutes left ;)

The Arctic Sunrise will be back in Estonia in a couple of weeks, demanding a stricter chemical legislation (REACH) in the European Union. You are all welcome to visit the ship after 12 oÂ’clock on the 16th of October. We will also be visiting Riga on the 9th, Klaipeda on the 11th, Stockholm on the 13th and 14th and finally Helsinki on the 17th and 18th of October. Hope to see you all on board!