Oleg Davygora22:17, 10.01.25

It is noted that the decision was made after Finland raised the anchor of the tanker Eagle S from the seabed.

NATO is stepping up its surveillance operations in the Baltic Sea region, sending two ships to the area following the alleged sabotage of undersea cables between Finland and Estonia.

According to Bloomberg, the move was unveiled on Friday by Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who urged politicians to step up technical surveillance of the area, noting that it is impossible to monitor all submarine activity using ships.

“A broader NATO presence in the area has a calming and stabilizing effect, and we are very pleased with this decision,” Valtonen said.

The decision comes after Finland raised the anchor of the tanker Eagle S from the seabed as part of an investigation into serious criminal hooliganism and serious interference with communications in connection with a cable-severing incident in late December. The Cook Islands-flagged vessel was identified as a member of a so-called shadow fleet carrying Russian oil products.

This is the third incident in the past 15 months where a ship’s anchor has damaged underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, prompting Estonia to send its own military vessel to patrol one of two undersea power cables with Finland in late December.

Finland and Estonia are jointly organizing a summit with NATO members from the Baltic Sea countries in Helsinki to discuss measures to ensure the security of critical seabed facilities.

(C)UNIAN 2025