NATO Ships to Protect Undersea Cables in the Baltic

consumers electricity cable interconnector

According to a report by the Finnish newspaper Yle on Tuesday, NATO is deploying around 10 ships by the end of this week to safeguard vital underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

As Politico reported, these ships will stay in the area until April and will be stationed near power and data cables to prevent potential sabotage attempts.

This decision to increase NATO’s presence follows a series of incidents in the Baltic Sea in recent months. The latest, which occurred at Christmas, involved severing a power cable between Finland and Estonia and four telecommunications cables.

Finland is conducting a criminal investigation into the oil tanker Eagle S, which is part of Moscow’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet” and suspected of causing the damage. Finnish authorities discovered a mark on the seabed, likely from the ship’s anchor, which is believed to have been dragged near the area as the vessel was en route to Russia.

In response, Estonia has launched its naval operation to protect the Estlink-2 cable, which transmits electricity between Finland and Estonia.

The incident has raised concerns across Europe, with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte pledging to “increase the military presence in the Baltic Sea.”

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