An underwater telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged in the last few hours, in a case that fuels the hypothesis of sabotage actions at the hands of Russia. The Estlink 2 cable, which connects the Finnish and Estonian electricity grids, has been out of order since yesterday afternoon: the reasons remain unknown but the Finnish authorities suspect an act of sabotage.
This is what is hypothesized by the Finnish police who have opened an investigation for “aggravated sabotage” and for this reason are evaluating the position of a Russian tanker, the Eagle S, coming from Russia and suspected of being part of ‘a ghost fleet’ of ships they operate to exclude the sanctions regime, explained Sami Rakshit, director general of Finnish customs. As part of the investigation, Finnish police boarded the Russian tanker. “We talked to the crew and collected evidence,” Robin Lardot of the Finnish National Investigation Bureau told a news conference. The ship is currently located off the coast of Porkkala, about 30 kilometers from Helsinki, after the intervention of a Finnish patrol boat.
The Cook Islands-flagged vessel, which left St. Petersburg for Port Said, Egypt, was carrying “unleaded petrol loaded in a Russian port,” Sami Rakshit, director general of Finnish customs, said at a news conference. Yesterday, as communicated by the Finnish operator Fingrid, the EstLink 2 direct current connection between Finland and Estonia was interrupted and a company manager immediately said that “the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out”. The investigators therefore suspect that the damage to the cable occurred due to external causes but they have not yet had the opportunity to inspect the seabed.
Brussels threatens new sanctions against Russia
“Yesterday’s accident involving undersea cables in the Baltic Sea is the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure”, is the condemnation of the European Union leaders. In a joint statement by the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy we read that, in response to the case in which the ship that is part of Russia’s shadow fleet is allegedly involved, “We will propose further measures, including sanctions , to target this fleet. In response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including increased information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as undersea repair capabilities and international cooperation.” “We remain committed to ensuring the resilience and security of our critical infrastructure. At present, there is no risk to the security of electricity supply in the region,” concludes the EU.
Incidents of this kind in the Baltic Sea have become increasingly frequent since the war in Ukraine began. At the moment, in fact, the Swedish police are conducting an investigation into the damage to two telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea which occurred on November 17 and 18, in an incident that according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was caused by sabotage. Suspicions quickly gathered on a Chinese-flagged vessel, the Yi Peng 3, which was sailing in the area at the time of the incident, according to international sites that track vessel movements.
So why so much interest in these cases? These actions, which particularly targeted energy and communications infrastructure, according to experts and politicians, fall within the context of the hybrid war between Russia and Western countries, which reached its peak after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine.
