NATO will send two ships to the Baltic Sea to increase surveillance in response to alleged sabotage of undersea cables in recent weeks, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced.
The Finnish authorities have held since the end of December the ship Eagle S, suspected of having damaged the Estlink 2 – electrical infrastructure that links Finland with Estonia – and other submarine cables in the Baltic.
“NATO will send two ships to the area and we will increase our presence in other ways as well. It is not possible to monitor the entire infrastructure, but we will use various measures, and the NATO presence has a calming effect,” Valtonen said.
The tanker, registered in the Cook Islands and owned by a Dubai shipping company, is also being investigated for allegedly evading Western sanctions against Russian oil exports, as it is suspected of belonging to the so-called “Russian shadow fleet.” with which Moscow circumvents the restrictions.
“Finland has long been concerned about the environmental and maritime security risks of the shadow fleet used by Russia. It is clear that this fleet is a threat to critical underwater infrastructure,” Valtonen said.
Valtonen reported that Finland will increase inspection of vessels sailing in the Baltic, especially those that move or act suspiciously. “There are also many other measures that we are going to implement,” added the Foreign Minister.
The Finnish authorities had previously announced that the Eagle S will be detained until they repair the “serious deficiencies” detected in the ship, and a day before, they had reported the discovery on the seabed of the anchor suspected of causing the damage.
Finland will host a summit of NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea on Tuesday to discuss security in the region, especially measures needed to protect critical underwater infrastructure following recent incidents.
The summit – which will be co-chaired by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal – will discuss strengthening NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to the threat from the Russian shadow fleet.
