Sweden is sending up to three warships and a surveillance aircraft.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
The most recent incident occurred on December 25, when the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged.
That came just weeks after two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed on November 17-18.
Suspicion over the Christmas Day incident has fallen on the Eagle S, a Cook Island-flagged oil tanker believed to be part of the “shadow fleet”.
Finnish police seized the Eagle S on December 28 as part of a criminal investigation.
Finnish authorities last week deemed the ship unseaworthy following an inspection, barred it from sailing and have banned eight crew members from leaving the country while police carry out a probe.
Investigators suspect the cables were damaged by the tanker’s anchor being dragged over them.
© 2025 AFP
