Tensions Rise with Suspicious European Subsea Cable Cuts

Believing sabotage as the cause of the cuts of two subsea data cables – and an outage on a power line late last week linking Finland and Estonia – the list of European nations calling NATO and the EU for help is growing.

In the latest round of disconnection in the Baltic Sea, Finnish authorities seized, boarded, and sequestered a ship carrying Russian oil that is suspected of causing the most recent cuts.

The European Union (EU) has begun preparing sanctions on Russia's 'shadow fleet' after the latest Baltic Sea cable was damaged, said Finland Prime Minister Pettori Orpo.

Are shadow fleet ships responsible for subsea cable cuts?

Since the 2022 restrictions on oil imports, Russia is said to have assembled a fleet of several hundred ships to transport oil beyond the reach of the sanction. The shadow fleet is said to generate billions of dollars a year in additional revenue for waging war in Ukraine.

These ships may be participating in what experts say is a form of hybrid warfare. Such warfare is defined as the use of a range of different methods to attack an enemy, for example, the spreading of false information or attacking important computer systems (and disabling crucial subsea cables) as well as, or instead of, traditional military action, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. Technology has opened up new ways to conduct hybrid warfare. Dragging ship anchors along the ocean floor to cut subsea cables is a staple of such an offense.

Related:Subsea Cable Alternatives Get Serious Attention

Member nations ask NATO for help to investigate subsea cable cuts

The outages have sent shockwaves across Europe following the severing over a month ago of multiple subsea cables in countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Last week, representatives of the affected nations reached out for help from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Why approach NATO? NATO was formed in 1949 consisting of a group of 32 countries from Europe and North America. It exists to protect the people and territory of its members. An attack on one member is viewed as an attack on all by the collective defense. The earlier subsea cuts in the Baltic impacted cables serving Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, and Finland through the Baltic Sea. Thus, there is a need to involve NATO.

Additionally, Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has begun their own investigation of the continuing "grave sabotage." The ship was boarded by a Finnish Coast Guard crew that took command and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters. It is registered in the Cook Islands.

Scope of the investigations

"We are coordinating closely with our allies and stand ready to support their investigations," said a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, in a Reuters story. Adding that the incident underscored the need for closer international cooperation in safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure.

"We are following investigations by Estonia and Finland, and we stand ready to provide further support," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a social media post. The international unit said it is increasing the frequency of patrols in the areas of the subsea cable damage and beyond.

It is an all-hands-on-deck for those using the global subsea cable network, which carries 95% of all intercontinental data traffic and an estimated $10 trillion of daily financial transactions.

International groups combine efforts

In the wake of two cable cuts in the Baltic Sea by a Chinese-flagged ship, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies, and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) last week formed the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience.

The new entity will – through the ICPC – promote the safeguarding of undersea cables and highlight the importance of telecommunications networks.

In a separate development months ago, NATO funded a visionary project to reroute internet traffic to space in case of disruption to subsea cables.