Germany Suspects Sabotage Behind Severed Baltic Sea Cables

Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Defence Minister, stated that the damage observed on two submarine cables in the Baltic Sea appears to be an act of sabotage and a “hybrid action”, though the perpetrator remains unknown. A telecommunications cable spanning 1,170km (730-mile) connecting Finland and Germany was cut during the early hours of Monday. Concurrently, a 218km internet connection between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island ceased operation on Sunday. These occurrences transpired amidst elevated tensions with Russia, and Pistorius remarked, “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally”. The defence ministers of Sweden and Lithuania conveyed their “deeply concerned” sentiment regarding the severance of the cable linking their respective nations. Ministers Pal Jonson and Laurynas Kasciunas declared in a statement, “Situations like these must be assessed with the growing threat posed by Russia in our neighbourhood as a backdrop,” advocating for the application of sanctions as a response to acts of sabotage. On Monday, Germany and Finland similarly voiced profound concern following the cutting of the C-Lion1 communications cable, cautioning that Europe’s security faced threats from Russia’s war, “but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors”. Multiple incidents concerning Baltic pipelines have intensified worries about sabotage since Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine. Cinia, a Finnish telecommunications and cybersecurity company, indicated that its cable might have been cut “by an outside force”. A spokesperson informed local media, “These kinds of breaks don’t happen in these waters without an outside impact.” The chief executive of Cinia stated that the damage occurred near Sweden’s Oland Island and could require five to 15 days for repairs. By Tuesday, Finland announced the initiation of a police investigation, concurrently with the Swedish Prosecution Authority confirming it had launched an inquiry into “sabotage”. Prosecutor Henrik Soderman declared in a statement, “The preliminary investigation is ongoing and at an early stage. There is no further information to share about the investigation at this time.” While the two cables cross paths in the Baltic, the damage is believed to have occurred at a different location. Arelion, the firm managing the connection to Lithuania, has not disclosed the precise point of its cable’s severance but anticipates repairs will span a couple of weeks. Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden’s civil defence minister, emphasized that determining the reason for the malfunction of the two cables was “absolutely central”. Approximately a fifth of Lithuania’s internet capacity has been diminished, though it is understood that consumers remain unaffected. Martin Sjogren, a spokesperson for Arelion, informed the BBC that cables in the Baltic occasionally sustain damage. He stated, “Fishing vessels accidentally damage cables with anchors.” He added, “The timing is odd of course but we haven’t been able to examine it so we don’t know what caused it.” Samuli Bergstrom, a Finnish government cybersecurity expert, noted that the disruption of the cable from Finland to Germany had not impacted internet traffic due to the availability of alternative cable routes. LISTEN: How vulnerable are the undersea cables connecting us? The most significant act of sabotage since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine occurred in the Baltic during that same year. German prosecutors continue their investigation into the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany. Speculative theories have circulated regarding that incident, accompanied by unconfirmed reports suggesting involvement from either the Ukrainian, Russian, or US government. A natural gas pipeline situated between Finland and Estonia sustained severe damage in October 2023. Subsequently, Finnish officials attributed that incident to a Chinese container ship whose anchor had dragged. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Further information on our external linking policy is available.