NATO to 'enhance military presence' in Baltic Sea after suspected sabotage of underwater cable

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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/12/27/nato-to-enhance-military-presence-in-baltic-sea-after-suspected-sabotage-of-underwater-cable_6736483_4.html

NATO will "enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea" after the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week, the Western military alliance's chief said Friday, December 27.

"Spoke with (Finnish President) Alexander Stubb about the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables. I expressed my full solidarity and support," NATO chief Mark Rutte said on X.

Estonia had begun naval patrols to protect an undersea cable supplying electricity from Finland following suspected sabotage of another one on Christmas Day, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said Friday. "We've decided to send our navy close to Estlink 1 to defend and secure our energy connection with Finland," he posted on X.

In a separate statement, Pevkur said Tallinn wanted to send a clear message that it was ready to protect its power connections with Finland with both military and non-military means. He said Estonia was in touch with both Finland and NATO over this.

The Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid on Wednesday, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.

Finnish authorities said Thursday that they were investigating an oil tanker that sailed from a Russian port over suspected "sabotage." The Eagle S vessel, which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, was en route to Port Said in Egypt. "The assumption at the moment is that it is a shadow fleet vessel and the cargo was unleaded petrol loaded in a Russian port," Sami Rakshit, director general of Finnish Customs, said on Thursday.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that transport Russian crude and oil products that are embargoed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Police suspect that the oil tanker's anchor might have damaged the power cable.
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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/12/27/nato-to-enhance-military-presence-in-baltic-sea-after-suspected-sabotage-of-underwater-cable_6736483_4.html

NATO will "enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea" after the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week, the Western military alliance's chief said Friday, December 27.

"Spoke with (Finnish President) Alexander Stubb about the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables. I expressed my full solidarity and support," NATO chief Mark Rutte said on X.

Estonia had begun naval patrols to protect an undersea cable supplying electricity from Finland following suspected sabotage of another one on Christmas Day, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said Friday. "We've decided to send our navy close to Estlink 1 to defend and secure our energy connection with Finland," he posted on X.

In a separate statement, Pevkur said Tallinn wanted to send a clear message that it was ready to protect its power connections with Finland with both military and non-military means. He said Estonia was in touch with both Finland and NATO over this.

The Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid on Wednesday, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.

Finnish authorities said Thursday that they were investigating an oil tanker that sailed from a Russian port over suspected "sabotage." The Eagle S vessel, which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, was en route to Port Said in Egypt. "The assumption at the moment is that it is a shadow fleet vessel and the cargo was unleaded petrol loaded in a Russian port," Sami Rakshit, director general of Finnish Customs, said on Thursday.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that transport Russian crude and oil products that are embargoed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Police suspect that the oil tanker's anchor might have damaged the power cable.

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Thursday that dragging an anchor on the seafloor can hardly be considered an accident. "The damages to critical underwater infrastructure have become so frequent that it's hard to believe they are accidents or just bad maritime maneuvres," he added.