The defense alliance Nato is increasing its presence in the Baltic Sea with two ships as a result of several cable breaks at Christmas.
This is stated by Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, to the Finnish media Yle.
– Nato is sending two vessels to the area, and we are increasing our presence in the area in other ways as well.
– It is not possible to guard all infrastructure, but we are taking several measures into use, and NATO’s presence has a calming effect, says Valtonen.
At the end of December, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the alliance would increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea.
But it was not clear to what extent this would happen.
On December 25, the power cable Estlink 2, which runs in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia, was damaged. Several data cables also broke.
Quickly, the tanker “Eagle S” was suspected of being involved.
The ship – a tanker – sailed on the night of 25 December from Saint Petersburg and on into the Baltic Sea.
The suspicion against “Eagle S” arose because the tanker sailed past the places where the cable breaks were subsequently discovered.
Finland suspects that the ship is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which consists of ships that sail with Russian goods under the flags of other countries.
To Yle, Elina Valtonen says that Finland has long been concerned that the Russian shadow fleet is a danger to the marine environment and safety.
Shortly after the cable breaks in December, Finnish police took control of “Eagle S”, which has since been lying in the sea off Finland.
In addition to a police investigation of the ship, Finnish authorities have launched an inspection to determine whether the ship meets international safety requirements and has valid certificates.
The ship sails under the flag of the Cook Islands and is loaded with 35,000 tonnes of petrol.
Its anchor was found earlier this week on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland near the town of Porkkalanniemi at the end of a dragline on the seabed.
It is suspected that the ship’s anchor has been dragged across the seabed and thus caused damage to the submarine cables.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
