BRUSSELS: NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage of an underwater power cable connecting Finland and Estonia this week, the Western military alliance’s chief Mark Rutte said on Friday.
On Christmas Day, the Estlink 2 submarine cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia was disconnected from the grid, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic.
Finnish authorities on Thursday said they were investigating the oil tanker, Eagle S, which sailed from a Russian port.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Friday: “We’ve got the situation under control, and we have to continue to work together vigilantly to make sure that our critical infrastructure is not damaged by outsiders.”
The Eagle S vessel, which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, was en route to Port Said in Egypt. Police suspect that the oil tanker’s anchor might have damaged the power cable.
Rutte said he spoke to President Stubb about Finland’s probe, adding in a post on X: “I expressed my full solidarity and support. NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea.”
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur earlier on Friday said on X that the country began naval patrols to protect the undersea cable supplying electricity from Finland.
In a separate statement, he said Tallinn wanted to send a clear message it was ready to protect its power connections with Finland with military and non-military means.
Rutte on Thursday promised NATO support to Estonia and Finland, and condemned attacks on critical infrastructure after speaking to Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
The European Union has also threatened further sanctions against Russia after this week’s incident.
The bloc’s 27 member states agreed earlier this month to blacklist around 50 more oil tankers from Russia’s fleet used to circumvent Western sanctions, taking the number targeted to around 80.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic since the war between Russia and Ukraine started two years ago
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.
On November 17 and 18 this year, sections of two telecom cables were cut in Swedish territorial waters. Suspicions have been directed at the Yi Peng 3, which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.
