BRUSSELS (AP) – NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday that the military alliance will suspend patrols in the Baltic Sea region while Finnish investigators work to determine whether a connected ship with Russia damaging submarine cables this week.
Finnish authorities control seized of the ship, the Eagle S, on Thursday as they tried to find out if she had damaged a power cable connecting Finland and Estonia and several data cables. This was the latest in a series of events related to the disruption of the area's main infrastructure.
In a post on X, Rutte said he had spoken to Finnish President Alexander Stubb “about the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables. ” Rutte said that “NATO will develop its military presence in the Baltic Sea. “
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Asked what could be done and when, NATO headquarters would only say that the 32-nation alliance “remains alert and working to provide further support, including by increasing our military presence ” in the area.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO in 2023, abandoning a decades-old policy of neutrality.
In October 2023, in response to similar incidents, NATO and its allies sent more maritime surveillance aircraft, long-range radar planes and drones on search and reconnaissance flights, and a fleet of mine hunters was also sent to the area.
The Eagle S is marked in the Cook Islands but Finnish customs officials and European Union officials say it is part of Russia's shadow fleet of tankers that deliver oil and gas inbound. against international sanctions placed over it war on Ukraine.
The aging ships, often with unclear ownership, regularly operate without insurance under Western regulation. The ships' use in Russia has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The Eagle S anchor is suspected of having damaged the cable, Finland's state broadcaster Yle has reported, citing police reports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the seizure on Friday but declined to comment.
After a high-level meeting about the incident, Stubb posted on X that “the situation is under control. We have no reason to worry,” while saying that the investigation continues. He said that Finland and Estonia had requested additional NATO assistance.
He said new measures could include “inspections of ship insurance certificates” in the area. Stubb said “we are also looking at ways, based on international maritime law, to deal more effectively with similar incidents in the future. “
The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday but had little impact on services. The event continues damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelineand both are called sabotage.
These data cables – one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden – separated in November. Germany's defense minister said “sabotage” was the most likely cause but did not provide evidence or say who might be responsible.
It was the Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said sabotage was to blame and launched criminal investigations.
NATO had already increased patrols near undersea infrastructure after the Nord Stream pipeline was hit. Last year, it also established a coordination cell to deepen ties between governments, armed forces and the defense industry and to better protect undersea installations.
