Germany said on Saturday that this week’s alleged sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia was a “wake-up call” for new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
The Estlink 2 cable carrying electricity from Finland to Estonia was disconnected from the grid on Wednesday, just over a month after two communication cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.
“Almost every month, ships damage the main submarine cables in the Baltic Sea,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Verbock said in a statement to Funke Media Group.
“Crews leave their anchors underwater, drag them for miles along the ocean floor for no apparent reason, and lose them when they try to pull them up,” she said.
“It’s still very difficult to believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us.”
Burbock called for “new European sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet” on vessels transporting Russian crude oil and petroleum products, despite an embargo imposed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It said the fleet posed a “serious threat to the environment and security” and was being used by Russia “to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine.”
Finnish authorities announced on Thursday that they were investigating the oil tanker Eagle S, which left a Russian port, as part of an investigation into “aggravated sabotage” of the Estlink cable.
Western alliance Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Friday that NATO would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea in response.
