The European Union vowed to increase safety in the Baltic Sea on Friday as Swedish authorities said they were investigating a new cable break, the latest example of damage to the region’s underwater infrastructure.
The executive arm of European Commission Bloc said it will take new measures to prevent and detect threats to submarine cables carrying internet traffic and transmitting electricity.
In recent months, the cutting of several submarine cables in the Baltic Sea has raised concerns that Russia is using moves to retaliate against NATO countries that support Ukraine. Alliances pointed out Russia as a possible perpetrator, but said it would be difficult to prove.
“We want to ensure that Europe is equipped not only to prevent and detect cable sabotages, but also to actively deter, repair and respond to threats to critical infrastructure. “We’re doing this,” said Henna Wilkunen, an official from the European Union who announced the initiative. The recent episode was “a big concern,” she said, adding that Block is taking “decisive action” to protect the cable.
The measures the block said will be rolled out over the next two years will enhance security and threat detection in the region and prioritize funding for new cables. The measure also strengthened enforcement of sanctions and diplomatic measures against hostile actors and what was called the “Shadow Fleet.”
NATO also strengthened its military presence in the region with a new patrol and surveillance operation called the Baltic Sea Sentry, which aims to protect ocean infrastructure.
Swedish police spokesman Mattias Rootgaard declined to comment on the ownership of the latest damaged cable, but the main run between Finland and Germany after Cinia, the Finnish owner. It looked like the communication line C-Lion1. On Friday, he said damage was detected. The cable connects the Central European communications network to Scandinavian countries.
The company said in a statement that the damage was minor and that communications were being sent normally, but this would be the third time C-Lion1 has been damaged in recent months.
It was unclear what caused the damage. Finnish authorities said Friday they were investigating after a rupture of a sea cable was discovered two days ago.
Swedish police also launched a preliminary investigation, said Ludgaard, who reportedly reported damage occurred in the country’s exclusive economic zone, an area where Sweden has rights but exceeds its territory. He said it has begun.
Swedish Prime Minister Wolf Christerson said on Friday that his government “takes all reports of possible damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea very seriously.” Such reports must be viewed in light of “a serious security situation that wins,” he said.
The Swedish Coast Guard was informed of a cable break on Thursday and headed towards the area off the East Island of Gotland, said service spokesman Mattias Lindholm.
The senior, a majority owned by the Finnish state, said he asked Finnish criminal authorities to investigate. Finland’s Home Minister Mari Rantanen told Finnish public broadcaster YLE on Friday that the authorities are still waiting for answers but “the chances of an accident are very small.”
According to Cinia, telecommunications using C-Lion1 cables, which have been in use since 2016, are disruptions due to possible cable cuts in the Gulf of Finland. Another break that lowered service was detected in late November, the senior said east of Hollande, Sweden.
In December, Finnish authorities seized oil tankers suspected of cutting several important underwater cables, accusing them of being part of the Russian “shadow fleet.” Western officials say they believe Russia is using such tankers to avoid sanctions. Analysts say that if Russia uses the Shadow Fleet to thwart critical infrastructure in Europe, it would escalate a conflict with Moscow’s west.
Sweden, the latest member of NATO, said in January it was investigating another incidence of damage to subsea cables running between Sweden and Latvia. Swedish authorities boarded a cargo ship suspected of committing “total sabotage.”
