Bornholm hotels reject requests to install Baltic shipping cameras
Monday 2nd November 2026 on 20:01 in
Denmark
Two hotels on Bornholm have rejected requests from a company called Varuna to install cameras on their roofs to monitor shipping in the Baltic Sea, DR reports. The owners say the approaches seemed suspicious, and one has reported the matter to Denmark’s Police Intelligence Service.
Kjeld Hammer, who runs Hotel Sandvig Havn on Bornholm’s north coast, said Varuna first contacted him in August. The hotel overlooks a stretch of sea where, according to the company, almost all shipping in the eastern Baltic passes.
Varuna described its project as a global network of cameras focused solely on the sea. It said the cameras would track ship traffic, support research and provide access to environmental observations. The company also said the system was not for security purposes and would not record people.
Hammer said he asked about the project’s purpose and whether the necessary approvals were in place. Although Varuna said it had the approvals, he remained sceptical. The company asked him to send videos of the view and the hotel roof, and offered between 100 and 200 euros a month to host a camera. He said he was not interested. A further approach came on 20 October from another person at the company.
Hotel Klippen in Gudhjem received a similar request. Co-owner Jannie Buch Thorborg confirmed to DR that Varuna had contacted the hotel. She said the hotel had declined and reported the approach to the Police Intelligence Service. Hammer also plans to contact the authorities.
DR’s verification team examined Varuna’s website and said the available evidence pointed to a civilian company in Israel. The phone number listed by the company has Colombia’s country code, but it did not answer when DR called.
The team also found that Varuna’s website uses the same technical platform and web server as Azimut AI, a company with links to Israel. Azimut AI’s two founders say on their LinkedIn profiles that they previously served in the Israeli navy and intelligence service. The company says its technology combines radar signals with images from coastal cameras, with a focus on ships that have switched off or falsified their radar signals.
Denmark’s Police Intelligence Service said people offered payment for a photography or observation task should contact the police.