STOCKHOLM: Swedish authorities said on Friday (Feb 21) that they were investigating suspected damage to a cable in the Baltic Sea, following a string of incidents experts believe are acts of sabotage orchestrated by Russia.
Finnish operator Cinia said its C-Lion 1 communications cable linking Finland and Germany had been damaged but was operational.
“The cable damage is minor and has no impact on the functionality of the data connections through the C-Lion 1 submarine cable. Data traffic can be transmitted over the cable normally,” it said in a statement.
The same cable had previously been cut in November last year with suspicions falling on a Chinese ship.
A string of incidents involving damage to cables and other infrastructure in the Baltic Sea have occurred in recent months, amid soaring tensions between the West and Russia over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Swedish police spokesman Mathias Rutegard told AFP an investigation into suspected “sabotage” had been opened following the latest incident, which occurred east of the Swedish island of Gotland.
“We have opened a preliminary investigation into a suspected broken cable in the Baltic Sea and within the Swedish economic zone,” Rutegard said.
Police later said in a statement that they had “no suspect” at this stage.
“SERIOUS SECURITY SITUATION”
A spokeswoman for the Swedish coast guard, Karin Cars, told AFP they had sent a ship to the site east of Sweden’s island of Gotland and were “assisting with the crime scene investigation”.
Cars said she did not have information about when the damage occurred, but said the coast guard had started heading towards the site the night before.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post to X that the government was monitoring the situation.
“We take all reports of possible damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea very seriously. As I have said before, they must be seen in the context of the serious security situation,” Kristersson said.
The European Commission said on Friday it would step up security requirements for underwater cables and prioritise financing for the deployment of new and smart cables.
It also said the European Union would increase the capacity for the swift repair of damaged cables and would enforce sanctions against “hostile actors” and the “shadow fleet”.
Security analysts say Russia is operating a “shadow fleet” of hundreds of vessels, aiming to dodge Western sanctions – some of which are accused of damaging cables.
