A New canal Bypassing Russian Territorial Waters

Sept. 17- Poland opened a canal that allows vessels to sail from the Baltic Sea to its Elblag port without passing through Russian territorial waters.

Indeed, Elblag in northern Poland, is separated from the Baltic Sea by a thin strip of land called an isthmus. Until now, the only way across was through an opening near the town of Baltiisk into Russia’s Kaliningrad Bay and required authorisation from Russian authorities.

The 1,300-metre-long canal – construction of which began in 2019 will allow vessels to pass between the two without having to go through the current channel that is in the territorial waters of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.

The canal is currently accessible only to small boats. Works are ongoing and are due to end in September 2023, when the canal is due to be large enough to accommodate vessels up to 100 meters long and 20 meters wide.