Background: The Middle Corridor, a transport route from Asia to Europe that also facilitates major energy projects through the Caspian Sea and its surrounding countries, has gained even more attention after the intensification of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022. Methods: On the basis of major scientific papers on the topic, foreign policy addresses from The Diplomat and studies by the United Nations and Asian Development Bank Institute, a framework with five aspects was created. In addition, two interviews with sector stakeholders were conducted to apply the framework and determine the relevance of the route to Finnish and Estonian economies. Results: A multifaceted overview of the current economic, political, and infrastructural state of the Trans-Caspian trade route is given. The practical value of the article lies in creating a framework for evaluating the route for related economies and testing this out for the Finnish and Estonian economies. Conclusions: Despite the challenges, there are enormous opportunities in this logistics route, especially with the restrictions facing Russia due to western bloc sanctions. Finland and Estonia, however, are suffering under the effects of war in Ukraine and the related sanctions, which has hindered the capacity to further enhance development projects.

In 2020, the number of passengers on international ro-pax ferries collapsed due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus and subsequent travel restrictions. At the same time, both the International Maritime Organisation and the European Union are setting stringent regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from ships. In this research, we look at what options companies offering ro-pax services have to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic under-tightening environmental regulations and the future options for the industry. The case under study is ro-pax ferry traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn. It is one of the busiest international passenger ferry connections in the world. The economics of transport are based on large high-speed vessels, the combination of passengers and cargo, and sales onboard. We created four scenarios for the traffic: to continue the same high-speed ro-pax system as in 2019, to reduce the number of vessels, to switch to new types of ships, to slow down the speed of the vessels or to divide traffic into faster and slower ships. The research contributes to discussion of competitive strengths of ro-pax transport.

The use of renewable energy sources is one of the most promising options for slowing down climate change and the variability of resources would benefit the energy systems even further. Research provides an initial assessment of the Baltic Sea region concerning the possibility of using wave energy as a supplement to the current renewables in this region. During the study, the main parameters of the environment were examined (waves, salinity, tides, and the effect of ice). In addition to the technical and economic feasibility assessment (from a supplier perspective), marketability research was conducted among sector stakeholders through a survey. The majority of the respondents among maritime and energy sector stakeholders showed interest in applying wave energy in less than a 10-year perspective, particularly in the specific areas of their industries, such as seaports. This research is important as it demonstrates the limitations of the Baltic Sea environment, effects of regional economic activity, and local and EU level political, legal, and administrative burdens in applying wave energy within the studied region. Based on this study, policies and legislative frameworks need to be adapted (e.g., environmental protection areas and open access data of sea) to facilitate change.