German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Image: trapezoid
After the Baltic Sea communication cable was damaged, it is still unclear what the reason behind the incident was. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius believes that damage to submarine cables between Finland and Germany and between Sweden and Lithuania was intentional.
“No one believes the cables were accidentally severed.”
“No one believes that these cables were cut by mistake,” the Social Democratic politician said during a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels. People have to own up to the vandalism. However, there is currently no evidence of this.
Pistorius's Finnish colleague Antti Häkkänen was more conservative and initially did not want to make any assumptions about the possible cause of the cable damage. At the same time, he stressed that the investigation was conducted under the careful assumption of the involvement of external actors. Hakanen said it was not just an investigation like a natural disaster, Finnish news agency STT reported.
The affected C-Lion1 cable between Finland and Germany runs 1,173 kilometers between Helsinki and Rostock. On Monday, Finnish state company Cinia discovered flaws in an undersea line put into operation in 2016 that serves as an undersea information highway connecting data centers in central and northern Europe. The connection is along part of the same route as the Nord Stream pipeline that was destroyed two years ago.
Minister: “We take this threatening situation very, very seriously.”
Sinia believes the cable broke on the Baltic Sea floor and was severed by external influences, such as anchors or seabed trawls. Whether that was intentional or not – like many things in this case, is unclear. According to the Finnish Transport and Communications Authority, the internet was not affected by the incident. Data traffic is not permanently interrupted either.
After the case came to light, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin expressed “deep concern”. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Feser (SPD) also said in Berlin: “We take this highly threatening situation very, very seriously.” The cable damage occurred in Swedish waters. “As an authority we are not yet involved but we have reached out to provide support.”
The cable between Gotland and Lithuania was also down
It is also understood that another data cable, the Arelion communications cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania, was damaged deep in the Baltic Sea. The Vilnius Prosecutor General's Office is investigating the situation and gathering information about the cable damage that occurred on Sunday. Swedish authorities have also opened an investigation.
According to a spokesman for telecommunications company Telia, the damaged cable between Lithuania and Sweden was quite old. There have been several related failures in the past, usually related to shipping errors. However, the current incident is likely to be more serious as the cables cross between Lithuania and Sweden and Germany and Finland.
“We certainly cannot rule out vandalism because there have been warning signs before. This is not the first time and it is nothing new,” Lithuania's Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas said.
NATO focuses on critical infrastructure in Baltic Sea
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline seven months later, critical infrastructure in the Baltics has become even more of a focus for the public, especially NATO. In the autumn of 2023, the Baltic Connector pipeline, a vital energy line between Finland and Estonia, was severed, and a data cable between the two EU countries was also damaged.
According to Finnish investigators, the pipeline was likely damaged by the anchor of a Chinese container ship called the Newnew Polar Bear. It was unclear whether the incident was an accident or vandalism. (Sudanese Development Authority/Department of Political Affairs)
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