Estonia Launches Naval Operation to Protect Undersea Power Cable in Baltic Sea
Estonia’s armed forces have taken action to safeguard the Estlink 1 undersea power cable in the Baltic Sea following the recent damage to a parallel electricity line, announced Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on Friday.
The incident unfolded when Finland detained a vessel carrying Russian oil on suspicion of causing an outage to the Estlink 2 undersea power cable, which links Finland and Estonia. Additionally, the vessel was believed to have damaged four internet lines in the process.
With a series of power cable, telecom link, and gas pipeline outages in the region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Baltic Sea nations are on high alert for potential acts of sabotage. While technical malfunctions and accidents can also impact subsea equipment, the frequency of damages to subsea installations raises suspicions of intentional disruption.
Foreign Minister Tsahkna expressed concerns over the recurring incidents, suggesting that the nature of the damages indicates more than just accidental occurrences or poor seamanship.
Investigations by Finnish authorities pointed towards the seized vessel, the Cook Island-registered ship known as the Eagle S, potentially causing the damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed—a scenario that has occurred multiple times in recent years.
“If there is a threat to the critical undersea infrastructure in our region, there will also be a response,” Tsahkna emphasized on social media.
Following the 658 MW Estlink 2 outage that commenced on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 operational, operators Fingrid and Elering have been working to address the situation.
Reports from Estonian public broadcaster ERR indicated that Estonia has deployed a patrol ship, the Raju, to monitor the waters where the Estlink 1 cable is situated. The country is also seeking support from NATO allies to bolster security measures in the region.
(Source: Reuters – Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik and Tomasz Janowski)