Estonia Lithuania: Baltic Sea states want to thwart sabotage with ships
Following the failure of the Estlink 2 submarine cable, the Baltic and Nordic states want to strengthen the monitoring of ship movements in the Baltic Sea.
30.12.2024, 20:03
SDA
According to Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, the countries are working on an action plan to ensure the protection of the energy infrastructure. According to Lithuanian media reports following a government meeting in Vilnius, the aim is to monitor where ships are maneuvering and what risks this entails. Technical means are also to be used.
Lithuania itself will take additional monitoring measures following the damage to Estlink 2, as announced by Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas. The government in Vilnius had already decided at the beginning of December that the security authorities would provide greater protection for several objects that are important for the Baltic EU and NATO country's energy supply from 2025 onwards.
The Estlink 2 power line between Estonia and Finland was interrupted the previous week. The Finnish authorities suspect sabotage and detained the oil tanker "Eagle S", which flies the flag of the Cook Islands. Its anchor could have caused the damage to the cable. According to the EU, the ship belongs to the Russian shadow fleet. Over Christmas, disruptions to communication cables in the Baltic Sea were also reported.
High economic costs
Lithuania and other countries bordering the Baltic Sea are on heightened alert for possible acts of sabotage after several recent failures and disruptions to power cables, gas pipelines and telecommunications connections. Paluckas emphasized that offshore wind farms also require special attention and that damage to power cables could cost national economies "tens to hundreds of millions of euros" due to higher prices per kilowatt hour.
