Estonia launches naval patrols to protect Baltic Sea undersea cables from sabotage, as Finland and NATO step up efforts to secure critical infrastructure in the face of rising threats.
Undersea Cables in the Baltic Sea: A Growing Concern for Security and Stability
Damage to subsea installations has become so frequent that it has become hard to attribute it to mere accidents or poor seamanship. Estonia, a key player in the region, has started naval patrols to protect a power cable under the Baltic Sea from Finland.
The Recent Incidents
On Christmas Day, the Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid, little more than a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters. Finnish authorities seized a ship, the Eagle S, which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, citing suspicions that the vessel had engaged in sabotage to cause the Estlink 2 outage.
Finnish police said they had interrogated crew members of the Eagle S, and suspected the vessel of partaking in aggravated criminal mischief. Investigators believe the ship could have deliberately caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed. “Had it kept going with its anchor on the seabed, more damage would have occurred,” Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, said on Friday.
The Shadow Fleet
Sami Rakshit, the head of Finnish customs, has said the assumption is that the Eagle S was part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” – vessels flagged to third countries that are used to transport Russian crude and other oil products that have been under embargo since the invasion of Ukraine.
We’ve got the situation under control, and we have to continue to work together vigilantly to make sure that our critical infrastructure is not damaged by outsiders,” Stubb told a news conference on Friday. “We have agreed with Estonia, and we have also communicated to Nato secretary general Mark Rutte that our wish is to have a stronger Nato presence,” he said.
NATO’s Response
Nato will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea. “Nato will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea,” Rutte posted on X on Friday, after speaking with Stubb. “We expressed my full solidarity and support. Nato will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea,” he added, without giving further details.
The Impact
The Estlink 2 cable could take months to repair, with an estimated finish date in August. The reduced capacity could push up electricity prices during the winter. Estonia has already begun naval patrols in the Baltic Sea to prevent damage to another electricity cable running between Estonia and Finland.
The Growing Threat
The Baltic nations have accused Russia of stepping up hybrid attacks on the region since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with frequent attacks on power cables, telecom lines and gas pipelines, as well as a spate of arson attacks and vandalism inside European countries. Sweden also announced it would increase surveillance of maritime traffic in the Baltic.
The Chinese vessel that was traveling from Russia has been named as a possible culprit in an incident last month where two Baltic telecoms cables were damaged.
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