Estonian navy to protect Baltic power cables, NATO to boost 'military presence'

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 NATO’s chief said Friday.

Meanwhile, Estonia’s armed forces have launched a naval operation to protect the Estlink 1 undersea power cable in the Baltic Sea in response to the damage this week of a parallel electricity line, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Friday.

“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.

Spoke with @KristenMichalPM about reported possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables. #NATO stands in solidarity with Allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations by #Estonia & #Finland, and we stand ready to provide further support.

— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) December 26, 2024

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Finland on Thursday seized a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion the vessel caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable which, like Estlink 1, connects Finland and Estonia, and that it also damaged four internet lines.

Damage to subsea installations in the region has now become so frequent that it is difficult to believe this was caused merely by accident or poor seamanship, Tsahkna said on Thursday.

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Finnish investigators believe the seized ship - the Cook Island-registered ship, named as the Eagle S - may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed, one of several such incidents in recent years.

“If there is a threat to the critical undersea infrastructure in our region, there will also be a response,” Tsahkna said on social media X.

The 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 outage began at midday local time on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 in operation between the two countries, operators Fingrid and Elering have said.

Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Friday that the Baltic country had despatched a patrol ship, the Raju, to the waters where the Estlink 1 runs, and that the country hoped NATO allies would also deploy ships.

With inputs from agencies.