Undersea cable sabotage: EU pledges $1bn boost to surveillance, repair

The European Commission will redirect almost a billion euros within its budget to boost surveillance of undersea cables and establish a fleet of emergency repair vessels, the Commission's executive vice president said on Friday.

On the same day, Swedish police said they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage involving a cable under the Baltic Sea.

There is concern among European governments about a series of recent incidents in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged, possibly on purpose.

Damaged cable

Finnish operator Cinia on Friday said it had detected problems on its C-Lion1 fibre-optic link connecting Finland and Germany some time ago and that it was confirmed this week that the cable was damaged even as data traffic continued to flow.

A statement from Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said the cable damage was identified on Wednesday and that a preliminary investigation was launched the following day.

Swedish police said they were also investigating the matter because the breach had occurred in Sweden's economic zone, although no suspects had been identified.

Some Baltic Sea incidents have been ruled accidental, including the cutting last month of a different telecoms cable in Swedish waters, while other cases are still under police investigation. No prosecutions have been made so far.

NATO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, the military alliance said that some of its member countries were deploying frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure.

Friday's incident marks the third time in recent months that Cinia's C-Lion1 cable has been damaged, after it was completely severed in November and December last year. The company said on January 7 that the cable was fully operational again after the second breach occurred on December 26.

The Swedish coast guard said it had sent a vessel to help investigate the incident off the island of Gotland on Friday. Sweden's prosecution authority said it was not involved in the investigation of the cable breach.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the government was being briefed and that damage to any undersea infrastructure was particularly concerning amid the current security situation.

Investigating explosions

"We want to make sure Europe is equipped not only to prevent and detect sabotage to cables but also to actively deter, repair and respond to any threat to critical infrastructure," said Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice president in charge of security at the Commission.

"We know that this is a threat for our security and for our environment, not only in the Baltic Sea area, but all over the European Union," Virkkunen told reporters in Helsinki.

In the Mediterranean, authorities are investigating explosions on three oil tankers in separate incidents in the last month, in a new sign of suspected sabotage action elsewhere in Europe.

In its action plan, the Commission pledged action to deter, prevent, detect and respond to cable damage. The reallocated budget cash would be used to develop a new data-sharing surveillance mechanism and drone programme.

It also outlined a goal to ensure supplies of spare parts for broken cables and to work towards the creation of an emergency reserve fleet "to deploy or repair electric or optical submarine cables."