NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Friday that the military alliance would increase its patrols in the Baltic Sea region as Finnish investigators work to determine whether a A Russian-linked ship sabotaged submarine cables there this week.
Finnish authorities took control of the ship Eagle S on Thursday as they tried to determine whether it had damaged a power cable between Finland and Estonia and several data cables. It was the latest in a series of incidents that have disrupted key infrastructure in the region.
In a post on the social media platform, Rutte said NATO would “increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea.”
Finnish police seized a ship carrying Russian oil after an undersea power cable connecting Finland to Estonia was disrupted. Several cables have been cut in the Baltic Sea in the past two years, and authorities have not ruled out sabotage by Russia or China.
Tanker is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, officials say
Asked for details about what might be done and when, NATO headquarters said only that the 32-nation alliance “remains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by increasing our military presence” in the region .
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, joined NATO in 2023, abandoning a decades-old policy of neutrality.
In response to similar incidents, NATO and its allies deployed more maritime patrol aircraft, long-range radar aircraft and drones for surveillance and reconnaissance flights in October 2023, as well as deploying a fleet of mine hunters 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 part of it Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers Shipping oil and gas despite international sanctions imposed over its war against Ukraine.
The aging ships, whose owners are often unclear, routinely sail without Western-regulated insurance. Russia’s use of the ships has raised environmental concerns about accidents due to their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The anchor of the Eagle S is suspected of having damaged the cable, the Finnish state broadcaster Yle reported, citing police information. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the seizure on Friday but declined to comment.
After a high-level meeting on the incident, Stubb posted on He said that Finland and Estonia had requested additional NATO assistance.
He said the new measures could include “inspections of insurance certificates of ships” in the region. Stubb said they would “also look for ways to respond more effectively to similar incidents in the future based on international maritime law.”
Damage to the cable had little impact on services
The Estlink-2 power cable, which carries electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, failed on Wednesday but had little impact on supplies.
The incident resulted from damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which were described as sabotage.
These data cables – one between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden – were cut in November.
The German defense minister said “sabotage” was the likely cause, but he offered no evidence or said who might be responsible.
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The Nord Stream pipelines, which once transported natural gas from Russia to Germany, were damaged Underwater explosions in September 2022.
Authorities said the cause was sabotage and launched a criminal investigation.
NATO had already increased its patrols near underwater infrastructure after the Nord Stream pipeline accident. A coordination cell was also set up last year to deepen relations between governments, armed forces and the defense industry and better protect underwater assets.
