NATO to step up Baltic Sea patrols after undersea cable damage

Countries in the region have been on alert following a string of incidents involving damage to undersea cables and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea since 2022, widely believed to be acts of sabotage.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said that the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea as investigators in Finland work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables in the region earlier week.

On Thursday, Finnish authorities boarded and seized control of the ship, the Eagle S, which they suspect of causing damage to an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia.

The Eagle S’ anchor is suspected of causing damage to the Estlink-2 cable, Finland’s state broadcaster Yle reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the seizure of the vessel, which was taken to Finnish waters, on Friday but declined to comment.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands but has been described by Finnish customs and EU officials as being part of Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers shipping oil and gas in defiance of international sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

The aging vessels, often with obscure ownership, routinely operate without Western-regulated insurance.

Russia’s use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.

It was the latest in a string of incidents involving the disruption of key infrastructure in the region.

In a post on X, Rutte said that he had spoken to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb “about the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables.”

Rutte said that, “NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea.”

Asked for further details about what those plans look like, NATO headquarters would say only that the 32-country alliance “remains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by enhancing our military presence” in the region.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, abandoned its decades-old policy of military neutrality and joined NATO in 2023 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

In October 2023, in response to similar incidents, NATO and its allies deployed more maritime patrol aircraft, long-distance radar planes and drones on surveillance and reconnaissance flights, while a fleet of minehunters was also dispatched to the region.

After a high-level meeting about the incident, Stubb posted on X that “the situation is under control. We have no reason to be worried,” adding that the investigation continues.

He said that Finland and Estonia had requested extra NATO help.

He said new measures could include “inspections of the insurance certificates of vessels” in the region.

Stubb added that “we are also looking at ways, based on international maritime law, to respond more effectively to similar incidents in the future.”

The Estlink-2 power cable, which takes electricity from Finland to Estonia under the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday but there was little impact to services.

Similar incidents

Countries in the region have been on alert following a string of incidents involving undersea cables and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea since 2022.

Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November.

Germany’s defence minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn’t provide evidence or say who might have been responsible.

And the Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022.

Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.

NATO had already boosted patrols near undersea infrastructure after the Nord Stream pipeline was hit.

And last year, the alliance set up a coordination cell to deepen ties between governments, armed forces and the defence industry and better protect undersea installations.

Read the full article here