Finland suspects Russian involvement in fresh damage to multiple undersea cables

Finnish authorities have launched an investigation to determine if the Russian government was involved in the break of two undersea power cables and four data cables linking Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day – the third incident to take place in the Baltic Sea in just over a month.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency’s (Traficom) Cyber ​​Security Center held a press conference about the matter on Thursday afternoon revealing that a ship from Russia’s shadow fleet – attempting to evade sanctions – may be behind the incident.

According to the Finnish Border Guard, a Russian Eagle S tanker in the Finnish Gulf “was asked to raise its anchor, but only the anchor chain surfaced,” leading the agency to take possession of the ship, which is now in Finnish waters.

Special teams from Finland’s Coast Guard and the Helsinki police have reportedly boarded the Russian oil tanker to look for evidence, releasing images of the vessel on X. Customs are further investigating the details related to the cargo, the police said.

@Merivartiosto on vahvasti toteuttamassa viranomaisten yhteistä operaatiota Suomenlahdella @PoliisiHelsinki @krp_poliisi kanssa. Meiltä mukana erityisesti 5. valmiusjoukkue, OPV Turva ja tietysti myös @rajaheko 🇫🇮⚓️ https://t.co/CT5Ks6ZqTS

undefined Mikko Hirvi (@HirviMikko) December 26, 2024

'Aggravated vandalism'

Now being investigated as a case of “aggravated vandalism,” Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo had announced the Estlink 2 electricity transmission connection between Helsinki and the Estonian capital of Tallinn had been disconnected on Christmas afternoon.

Additionally, four telecommunications cables originating from Finland, including two Elisa cables, were completely cut, reported YLE, Finland's national public broadcasting company.

The third was reported to be a Cinia's C-Lion1 submarine cable running from Helsinki to Germany, and a fourth submarine cable running from Helsinki to Tallinn, belonging to the Chinese-owned CITIC Telecom, was also damaged, the news outlet said.

Still, even with the damage, Traficom said that “data traffic from Finland to Europe and the rest of the world is operational,” although customers could experience communication service delays.

Traficom reiterated that as with normal contingency practices, “traffic passing through the damaged cables was immediately redirected to backup connections.” The agency added that cable repair work would begin by the end of the week.

The Finnish PM took to X assuring citizens that the nation’s electric supply would not be affected and that authorities were investigating.

Suomen ja Viron välinen Estlink 2-sähkönsiirtoyhteys on pudonnut iltapäivällä verkosta. Viranomaiset ovat joulunakin hereillä ja selvittävät asiaa. Siirtoyhteyden katkeaminen ei vaikuta suomalaisten sähkönsaantiin.

undefined Petteri Orpo (@PetteriOrpo) December 25, 2024

Leaders speak out

Addressing the public on Thursday, Estonia’s Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets commented that he believed the cable damage was “not an accident or a coincidence,” reported YLE, Finland's national public broadcasting company.

“They have become systematic, and we must consider them an attack on our infrastructure,” Läänemets said on Thursday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he spoke with Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal about the “possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables,” stating that NATO would stand behind its allies.

Condemning “all attacks on critical infrastructure,” the General Secretary posted on X that NATO was “following the investigations by Estonia and Finland" and was ready to "provide further support.”

Spoke with @KristenMichalPM about reported possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables. #NATO stands in solidarity with Allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations by #Estonia & #Finland, and we stand ready to provide further support.

undefined Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) December 26, 2024

It’s not the first case of suspected sabotage involving underseas cables located in the Baltic Sea – an active commercial shipping route surrounded by nine countries, including Russia.

In November, underseas data cables between Finland and Germany, as well as Lithuania and Sweden, were severed within 24 hours of each other, leading to data network outages and “deep concerns” among nations worldwide.

Turns out, damage to those fiber-optic cables was caused by construction work in the area, the Finnish government reported earlier this month.

And, last year, a Chinese container ship was found to have caused severe damage to a subsea gas pipeline and several telecom cables, also between Finland and Estonia. That damage was blamed on the ship’s dragging anchor, but it's still not determined if the act was intentional.

Investigations further continue regarding the 2022 explosions in the Baltic Sea of the underseas Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany. Kremlin involvement is suspected in both previous cases.