Damaged cable between Finland and Estonia. Another worrying incidental in the Baltic Sea

Zdjęcie: Uszkodzony kabel między Finlandią a Estonią. Kolejny niepokojący incydent na Bałtyku

The Finnish authorities confirmed the harm to the offshore telecommunications cable connecting Helsinki and Tallinn. The incidental occurred on Wednesday morning, and the telecom operator reported the accident. Although communications disruptions have proved limited, the consequence of the services was immediate and decisive – a ship was detained in Finnish territorial waters, which is likely to be liable for harm to the infrastructure.

The unit was moving in the immediate vicinity of the crash site. As reported by the Finnish police, the ship was rapidly located by Border defender patrol and chopper and then directed to a safe port. The ship is now under the control of the Finnish authorities.

Investigations and possible allegations

The investigation is conducted by the police in cooperation with the prosecution. Investigators are investigating the suspicion of harm to property or attempted harm to property, as well as causing serious interference with telecommunications communications. This is simply a qualification that clearly demonstrates the importance of the event – we are talking about critical infrastructure that is crucial to the functioning of the countries and economies of the region.

In parallel, global cooperation has been launched, primarily with the Estonian authorities. The Helsinki-Tallin merger is not only commercial but besides strategic, peculiarly in the context of safety of communication and data exchange in the Baltic Sea region.

Baltic under peculiar supervision

Although it is officially stressed that the failure has not caused major problems in communication, the fact that another harm to the offshore infrastructure in the Baltic Sea raises legitimate concerns. In fresh years the region has become an area of increased military, intelligence and logistics activity, and sub-sea cables and pipelines are increasingly identified as a possible mark for hybrid activities.

The northern and east NATO flank countries are increasingly seeing that safety does not end at the land border. Control of waters, protection of underwater infrastructure and fast consequence of services become 1 of the key elements of the defence of sovereignty.

Warning signal for the region

The Finnish consequence – fast recognition of the individual, its acquisition and launch of criminal procedures – shows that the State is taking the substance seriously. This is simply a clear signal that possible safety breaches of critical infrastructure will not be underestimated or swept under the carpet.

The Helsinki–Tallin incidental should besides be a informing to another countries of the region, including Poland. The Baltic becomes a space in which there is simply a fresh dimension of competition – quiet, hard to prove, but possibly very dangerous. The answer is only 1 thing: increased supervision, close alliance cooperation and consistent protection of strategical resources.