Estonia Launches Naval Operation to Protect Estlink 1 Interconnector

Estonia’s Defense Forces initiated a naval operation today to safeguard the Estlink 1 interconnector between Estonia and Finland following the recent damage to Estlink 2 on Christmas Day.

On December 25, Finland’s transmission system operator Fingrid alerted authorities about a potential issue with Estlink 2, leading to an immediate investigation into the incident and its potential connection to a foreign cargo ship.

Reports from local media indicated that Finland detained a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion of causing the outage and damaging internet lines on December 26.

In response, Estonia’s Defense Forces deployed the naval patrol vessel Raju early this morning to protect the Estlink 1 cable, as confirmed by Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna.

Minister Tsahkna expressed concern over the recurrent damage to critical submarine infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, suggesting that such incidents could not be mere accidents.

While the investigation is ongoing, the Minister noted that the seized Cook Islands-flagged vessel EAGLE S, suspected of having an unsecured anchor, was escorted to a Finnish port by authorities.

“Damage to critical submarine infrastructure has become so frequent that it is difficult to believe this is accidental or merely poor seamanship. We must understand that damage to submarine infrastructure has become more systematic and thus must be regarded as attacks against our vital structures,” Tsahkna emphasized.

He also highlighted Estonia’s collaboration with Finland and other Baltic Sea bordering nations to defend vulnerable seabed infrastructure and address security threats posed by the shadow fleet.

The European Commission and the High Representative issued a joint statement condemning the incident as part of a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure, particularly targeting Russia’s shadow fleet, which poses security and environmental risks.

“In response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as in 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.”

The Finnish police continue to investigate damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and telecom cables from the previous year, suspected to be caused by a ship dragging its anchor.