NATO’s standing maritime group is to set off from its base in the German port of Kiel for the Baltic Sea to monitor critical underwater infrastructure following several suspected acts of sabotage, the group’s commander said on Friday.
The group had been concentrating on the North Sea, but recent tensions in the Baltic Sea have resulted in a change of priorities, Erik Kockx said at the Kiel naval base.
“We are needed elsewhere,” Kockx said.
The Dutch Luymes and the German minesweeper Datteln are part of the group, with more vessels expected to follow later.
At a press conference in Helsinki on Friday, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Finland was stepping up its efforts to protect infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
She spoke of the two NATO ships that were being sent to patrol the area, adding that other activities are also being expanded.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would also participate “with a strong contribution” in the increased NATO presence in the Baltic Sea.
“We know that Russia is attacking Western states with hybrid warfare,” he said.
Pistorius said the details would be coordinated among NATO members, adding that the stronger presence sends a clear signal that sabotage and destruction will not be tolerated.
NATO’s Baltic states to meet next week
The announcement came ahead of a summit of NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea in Helsinki next Tuesday, at which Valtonen said she hopes allies will agree on further, longer-term measures.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys also spoke out in favour of further measures against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships used to circumvent sanctions.
“The Baltic Sea is the most important gateway for Russia’s oil exports and we must stop this,” he said during a visit to the Estonian capital Tallinn.
At the same time, the “shadow fleet” is an “instrument in hybrid activities” and poses a threat to the environment, he said.
Budrys, along with his Estonian colleague Margus Tsahkna, emphasized that international rules and national regulations must be adapted in order to respond to incidents in the Baltic Sea.
Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’
Russia has long been accused of circumventing a Western price cap on Russian oil exports to third countries by using a “shadow fleet” of ships that are not in the hands of Western shipping companies and are insufficiently insured.
A submarine power cable running between Finland and Estonia, as well as several communication cables, were damaged in the Gulf of Finland at the end of December.
Finnish investigators suspect that the oil tanker Eagle S, sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands, caused the damage intentionally and are therefore investigating possible sabotage.
The European Union believes the Eagle S belongs to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Investigators have now begun to examine the recovered alleged anchor from the detained Eagle S tanker. They want to confirm that it is the ship’s anchor and determine when it came loose from its chain.
Investigations have so far led to the discovery of an approximately 100-kilometre-long drag mark on the seabed.
