From Reuters via gCaptain, February 21:
The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.
Several investigations are under way but no suspects have been brought to trial.
FEBRUARY 2025: FINLAND-GERMANY TELECOM CABLE
Swedish and Finnish police said on February 21 they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, while Sweden’s coast guard deployed a vessel to the location where the damage occurred.
No suspects have so far been identified, investigators said.
Finnish operator Cinia said it had “some time” earlier detected problems on its C-Lion1 link connecting Finland and Germany and that it had eventually received confirmation that the cable was damaged even as data traffic continued to flow.
The incident marked the third time in just a few months that the C-Lion1 cable was damaged, after it was completely severed in November and December of 2024.
The European Commission said it will spend almost a billion euros to boost surveillance of cables and establish a fleet of emergency repair vessels.
JANUARY 2025: SWEDEN-LATVIA TELECOM CABLEAn undersea fiber optic cable connecting the west coast of Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland malfunctioned on January 26, triggering an investigation by NATO and local police.
Sweden later seized and boarded the Maltese-flagged bulk vessel Vezhen on suspicion that it had caused the damage in an act of gross sabotage.
Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare said that the Vezhen’s anchor had dropped to the seabed in high winds and may have struck the cable, but denied any sabotage.
A Swedish prosecutor on February 3 concluded that the breach happened by accident and released the vessel.
DECEMBER 2024: POWER AND INTERNET CABLESThe Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia was damaged on December 25 along with four telecoms lines.
Finland seized the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S tanker on suspicion it caused the damage by dragging its anchor, adding that the ship was part of a “shadow fleet” circumventing sanctions on Russian oil.
The Kremlin said the ship’s seizure was of little concern to it, and Russia has previously denied involvement in such incidents.
Finnish police said on December 29 they had found tracks on the seabed where they suspect the Eagle S of damaging the cables, and investigators later recovered a lost anchor they said was believed to belong to the ship.
A Finnish court has rejected a request by the ship’s owner, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, seeking the release of the ship.
NOVEMBER 2024: BALTIC TELECOM CABLES....
....MUCH MORE
