Estlink 2 damage not considered an accident, Estonia’s minister says as navy protects sister link

Estonia’s Defense Forces launched a naval operation early today to protect the Estlink 1 interconnector between Estonia and Finland as a response to the damage that occurred on the day of Christmas on Eastlink 2.

Finland’s transmission system operator (TSO) Fingrid reported to the authorities on December 25 the possible failure of Estlink 2, prompting an immediate investigation into the chain of events of the incidents as well as whether a foreign cargo ship is involved in the damage.

According to local media reports, Finland on December 26 seized a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion the vessel caused the outage and damaged internet lines.

In response to this, the Estonian Defense Forces launched a naval operation early Friday morning, with the navy patrol vessel Raju dispatched to protect the Estlink 1 cable, Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna reported.

Commenting on the failure of the HVDC link and three communication cables, Tsahkna said that damage to critical submarine infrastructure in the Baltic Sea that occurred so frequently could not be considered an accident.

The minister said the investigation was in its early stages, however, it is positive that the seized Cook Islands-flagged vessel EAGLE S, which according to initial reports may have had an unsecured anchor, has been escorted into a Finnish port by the Finnish authorities.

“Damage to critical submarine infrastructure has become so frequent that it is difficult to believe this is accidental or merely poor seamanship. We must understand that damage to submarine infrastructure has become more systematic and thus must be regarded as attacks against our vital structures,” Tsahkna said.

The minister further said the infrastructure on the Baltic Sea seabed was vulnerable but Estonia continued comprehensive cooperation with Finland and other countries bordering the Baltic Sea to defend it: “We are also in touch with our other allies and partners to coordinate international cooperation. In addition to circumventing sanctions, the shadow fleet is a security threat in the Baltic Sea and we cannot just sit and watch.”

The European Commission and the High Representative issued a joint statement on the incident, saying that it represents the “latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure” and that they were working with the Finnish authorities on the ongoing investigation.

“We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure. The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet,” the joint statement writes.

“In response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as in undersea repair capabilities, and international cooperation. We remain committed to ensuring the resilience and security of our critical infrastructure. At present, there is no risk to the security of electricity supply in the region.”

To remind, the Finnish police is still investigating damage caused last year to the Balticconnector gas pipeline linking the two countries, as well as several telecom cables, said to likely have been caused by a ship dragging its anchor.