Finland studies cause of cable rupture and questions vandalism

(Bloomberg) — Finnish President Alexander Stubb said it was unclear whether repeated sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea was intentional.

Sabotage, error or incompetence remain possible causes, Stuab said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Finland is investigating the actions of the tanker’s crew after its anchor pulled four data cables and a power line from the seafloor on December 25.

“The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter who does it,” Stubb said Wednesday. “The most important thing is that we can stop it, and if we can’t stop it, we can actually correct it very quickly.”

Although the investigation is ongoing, based on the evidence gathered so far, the incidents now appear likely to be accidents, according to European government officials familiar with the matter.

Officials said there was currently insufficient evidence to suggest it was vandalism. They explained that there are large numbers of ships passing through an area full of undersea infrastructure, and many of the ships in Russia’s shadow fleet are poorly equipped and in poor condition and should not be at sea.

The Shadow Fleet refers to a fleet of tankers carrying sanctioned oil products from Russia that lacks Western insurance and operates under opaque conditions.

Officials also noted that in other cases, such as operations targeting shipments and other locations, investigators were able to convince themselves that Russian intelligence was behind the attacks.

“One of the big problems we have right now is that they are basically transporting this sanctioned oil in poor quality vessels — which are old and worn out,” Stubb said. He said this increases the risk of environmental disaster.

“You have to understand that the Baltic Sea is a small sea,” the president said, suggesting that makes it more vulnerable to oil spills.

Stubb’s comments came a week after he co-chaired a meeting with policymakers from NATO countries around the Baltic Sea to find ways to prevent damage to underwater infrastructure. Finally, NATO members agreed to provide ships, surveillance aircraft and naval drones to help patrol the waters.

“Now we have Operation Baltic Sentinel in the Baltic Sea” and have a better understanding of the situation, Stubb said.

Finnish police have completed a forensic investigation into the anchor of a Cook Islands-flagged vessel after retrieving a metal hook from the seabed.

The National Bureau of Investigation is still investigating charges of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications, indicating that it has not been determined whether the incidents were accidental. Police said the investigation is expected to take several months.

“We are not going to rush to conclusions,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christiansen said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “But we’re not naive either. We don’t think something will suddenly happen in the Baltic Sea that doesn’t normally happen.”

“There is always the risk of poor seamanship, but there are also limitations to poor seamanship,” he said.

Finnish authorities have deemed the Eagle S unseaworthy after an inspection found 32 faults on the ship, three of which were serious enough to require repairs before it can continue operating.

The Washington Post and Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat both previously reported that the latest cable leak was likely an accident.

“Whether this was intentional or unintentional, this is unacceptable,” Christerson said. “We cannot accept that vital optical fibers or cables are at risk” because ships do not respect their protection.

–With assistance from Alberto Nardelli, Chad Thomas, and Jonas Ekblom.

(Update of Swedish Prime Minister’s comments in paragraph 14)

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