NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Friday that the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea region as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.
Finnish authorities seized control of the ship, the Eagle S, on Thursday as they tried to establish whether it had damaged a power cable linking Finland and Estonia and several data cables. It was the latest in a string of incidents involving the disruption of key infrastructure in the region.
In a post on the social media platform X, Rutte said he had spoken to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb “about the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables.” Rutte said NATO would “enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea.”
Finnish police seized a ship carrying Russian oil after an underwater power cable connecting Finland to Estonia was cut. Multiple cables have been cut in the Baltic Sea in the last two years and authorities haven’t ruled out sabotage by Russia or China.
Tanker part of Russian shadow fleet, officials say
Asked for details about what might be done and when, NATO headquarters would say only that the 32-country alliance “remains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by enhancing our military presence” in the region.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometres border with Russia, joined NATO in 2023, abandoning a decades-old policy of neutrality.
In October 2023, in response to similar incidents, NATO and its allies deployed more maritime patrol aircraft, long-distance radar planes and drones on surveillance and reconnaissance flights, while a fleet of minehunters was also dispatched to the region.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands but has been described by Finnish customs officials and European Union officials as being part of Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers shipping oil and gas in defiance of international sanctions imposed over its war on Ukraine.
The aging vessels, often with obscure ownership, routinely operate without Western-regulated insurance. Russia’s use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The Eagle S’s anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Finland’s Yle state broadcaster has reported, relying on police statements. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was asked about the seizure on Friday but declined to comment.
After a high-level meeting about the incident, Stubb posted on X that “the situation is under control. We have no reason to be worried,” while noting that the investigation continues. He said that Finland and Estonia had requested extra NATO help.
He said new measures could include “inspections of the insurance certificates of vessels” in the region. Stubb said they were “also looking at ways, based on international maritime law, to respond more effectively to similar incidents in the future.”
Damage to cable had little impact on services
The Estlink-2 power cable, which takes electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday but had little impact on services.
The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.
Those data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November.
Germany’s defence minister said “sabotage” was the likely cause, but he didn’t provide evidence or say who might have been responsible.
Finland has officially joined NATO in one of the alliance’s most consequential moments in recent history. Andrew Chang discusses what this move means for Russia, which has called NATO one of the country’s most serious external threats.
The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022.
Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.
NATO had already boosted patrols near undersea infrastructure after the Nord Stream pipeline was hit. Last year, it also set up a co-ordination cell to deepen ties between governments, armed forces and the defence industry to better protect undersea installations.
