Baltic Sea nations are on high alert following a series of outages affecting power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. European Commission Vice President for Security Henna Virkkunen stated in an interview with Reuters on Monday that identifying suspect ships and restricting their activities is the most effective way to protect critical undersea infrastructure.
Last month, Finnish police seized a tanker carrying Russian oil, suspecting that the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecom cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed. Finland’s customs service believes that the tanker, Eagle S, is part of a so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels Russia uses to evade oil sanctions.
NATO’s Baltic Sea member countries are set to meet in Helsinki on Tuesday. NATO, which Finland is now a member of, has announced plans to increase its regional presence. Virkkunen will participate in the NATO members meeting in Helsinki.
She emphasised that nations bordering the Baltic Sea should enhance their preparedness for potential infrastructure damage and take action when suspicious ship movements are detected. Additionally, it is crucial to limit the activities of high-risk vessels. Virkkunen highlighted the importance of exploring how new technologies can help address these risks.
