Two fibre-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea were cut on Sunday and Monday, leading to suspicions about a Chinese cargo vessel that the Danish navy is currently monitoring in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden. The Chinese vessel, which left Ust-Luga port in Russia on Friday and passed through the area where the incidents occurred, is considered “of interest” by Swedish police, who are investigating the matter. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson emphasized the need for an investigation, stating that previous acts of sabotage in the region are taken seriously. This is part of a series of incidents involving pipelines or cables in the Baltic Sea over the past few years.
The region has seen increased tensions since the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, which damaged two pipelines connecting Russia and Germany. This has led to accusations and counter-accusations between various countries, including Russia, the United States, and Germany. In April 2023, a joint investigation by Nordic countries suggested Russia may have deployed spy ships for sabotage operations in the Baltic Sea.
The recent incident involving the Balticconnector gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia, which took six months to repair, has raised concerns about underwater sabotage in the region. The Baltic Sea’s geography, surrounded by NATO countries and Russia, makes it a hotspot for such activities. The shallow basin and strategic location have made it a target for hybrid warfare tactics, where conventional and unconventional means are used to cause instability without triggering a full-scale war.
Determining whether these incidents are acts of sabotage remains challenging, as the region sees a high volume of maritime traffic, including vessels engaging in “dark ship” activities to evade sanctions. Experts suggest that investigating these incidents impartially is crucial to avoid bias and blame games among different countries. The murky waters of the Baltic Sea provide a perfect environment for such incidents to occur without clear attribution.
As tensions in the region continue to rise, the need for a neutral investigation into these incidents becomes more pressing. Understanding the motives and potential actors behind underwater sabotage in the Baltic Sea is crucial for maintaining stability in the region.