NATO to boost security in Baltic Sea after cable 'sabotage'

NATO countries on the Baltic Sea will look to boost security when they meet in Helsinki on Tuesday, following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables widely blamed on Russia.

They are expected to announce a NATO patrol mission monitoring activity “below, above, and on the sea surface”, researcher Iro Sarkka of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs told AFP.

Several undersea telecom and power cables have been severed in the Baltic Sea in recent months, with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war.

The sabotage has been blamed on a “shadow fleet” of vessels – often ageing and operating under opaque ownership – that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products, embargoed since the invasion of Ukraine.

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Addressing the European Parliament, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed Monday the need to make clear that “such hostile actions” and such efforts “will not go unanswered”.

“We will also strengthen NATO’s military presence in the region, and of course, we will discuss the shadow fleet and what to do about it, so we are responding and will continue to ensure no country can exploit us, control our infrastructure or disrupt our societies,” Rutte said, adding he would be attending the meeting.

Tuesday’s meeting will focus on “strengthening of NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to the threat posed by Russia’s shadow fleet”, according to a statement from the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who is co-hosting the meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

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Stubb also promised “measures required to secure the critical underwater infrastructure”.

The leaders of Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, and the executive vice-president of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen are expected to attend.

NATO said in late December it would increase its presence in the region following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables between Finland and Estonia, but it has yet to announce an official operation.

“How long the potential operation will last and what kind of mandate it will have I assume will be revealed (on Tuesday),” Sarkka said, adding that maritime operations have previously been conducted by NATO in the Mediterranean Sea.

“The actions in recent months related to the Russian shadow fleet and sabotage has prompted NATO to develop its maritime situational awareness in the Baltic Sea region,” she added.

A comprehensive NATO operation would serve as a “deterrent and a strategic signal” that NATO is prepared to act in response to the recent activities, according to Sarkka.

Tense security situation

Last week, Finland said NATO would contribute two vessels to a monitoring mission in the Baltic Sea, while the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which comprises Nordic and Baltic states as well as the Netherlands, also said it would increase its surveillance.

Sweden is sending up to three warships and a surveillance aircraft.

Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.

In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.

The most recent incident occurred on December 25, when the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged.

That came just weeks after two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed on November 17-18.

Suspicion over the Christmas Day incident has fallen on the Eagle S, a Cook Island-flagged oil tanker believed to be part of the “shadow fleet”.

Finnish police seized the Eagle S on December 28 as part of a criminal investigation.

Finnish authorities last week deemed the ship unseaworthy following an inspection, barred it from sailing and have banned eight crew members from leaving the country while police carry out a probe.

Investigators suspect the cables were damaged by the tanker’s anchor being dragged over them.