EU sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet need to be strengthened - German Foreign Minister

“Right now, ships are damaging important submarine cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month. Ship crews are dropping anchors into the water, dragging them for miles across the seabed for no apparent reason, and then losing them while retrieving them,” Baerbock said.

She emphasized that she found it “more than difficult” to believe in such accidents. The minister noted that in the digital world, submarine cables are “the communication veins that hold the world together.”

Baerbock also emphasized that there is every reason to believe that EstLink 2 and other cables were damaged by the tankers. The diplomat refers to the Finnish police, which believes it is very likely that the ship's anchor caught on the cables that were damaged.

“The current incident once again shows that the often outdated Russian shadow fleet, which includes the ship now detained by Finland, poses a great danger to our environment and our security. Russia is using it to finance its aggressive war in Ukraine, which violates international law,” she concluded.

Damage to cables in the Gulf of Finland

On December 25, submarine communication cables were damaged between Estonia and Finland.

According to Arto Pahkin, a representative of the Finnish operator Fingrid, two vessels were in the area of damage at the time of the incident. More details can be found in the RBC-Ukraine article.

Later, it became known that the Finnish authorities were investigating the case of an oil tanker allegedly linked to Russia's shadow fleet. Finnish President Alexander Stubb called on the international community to counter the threats posed by Russian vessels.

Finland also stated that the detention of the Russian tanker prevented several serious sabotage incidents, as the vessel could have continued to damage underwater communications.