BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday that the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea region as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.
Finnish authorities of the ship, the Eagle S, on Thursday as they tried to establish whether it had damaged a linking Finland and Estonia and several data cables. It was the latest in a string of incidents involving the disruption of key infrastructure in the region.
In a post on X, Rutte said that he had spoken to Finland鈥檚 President Alexander Stubb 鈥渁bout the ongoing Finnish-led investigation into possible sabotage of undersea cables.鈥 Rutte said that 鈥淣ATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea.鈥
Asked for details about what might be done and when, NATO headquarters would say only that the 32-country alliance 鈥渞emains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by enhancing our military presence鈥 in the region.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO in 2023, abandoning a decades-old policy of neutrality.
In October 2023, in response to similar incidents, NATO and its allies deployed more maritime patrol aircraft, long-distance radar planes and drones on surveillance and reconnaissance flights, while a fleet of minehunters was also dispatched to the region.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands but has been described by Finnish customs officials and European Union officials as being part of Russia鈥檚 shadow fleet of tankers shipping oil and gas in imposed over its .
The aging vessels, often with obscure ownership, routinely operate without Western-regulated insurance. Russia鈥檚 use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The Eagle S鈥檚 anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Finland鈥檚 Yle state broadcaster has reported, relying on police statements. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the seizure on Friday but declined to comment.
After a high-level meeting about the incident, Stubb posted on X that 鈥渢he situation is under control. We have no reason to be worried,鈥 while adding that the investigation continues. He said that Finland and Estonia had requested extra NATO help.
He said new measures could include 鈥渋nspections of the insurance certificates of vessels鈥 in the region. Stubb added that 鈥渨e are also looking at ways, based on international maritime law, to respond more effectively to similar incidents in the future.鈥
The Estlink-2 power cable, which takes electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday but had little impact on services. The incident follows and the , both of which have been termed sabotage.
Those data cables 鈥 one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden 鈥 were . Germany鈥檚 defense minister said 鈥渟abotage鈥 was the likely cause but he didn鈥檛 provide evidence or say who might have been responsible.
The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.
NATO had already boosted patrols near undersea infrastructure after the Nord Stream pipeline was hit. Last year, it also set up a coordination cell to deepen ties between governments, armed forces, and the defense industry and better protect undersea installations.
