BRUSSELS — According to the head of public communications at NATO Maritime Command, the alliance has not recorded any instances of “malicious damage” to vital infrastructure in the Baltic Sea since the initiation of its Baltic Sentry operation in January, as reported by The Moscow Times.
Commander Arlo Abrahamson stated, “[Baltic Sentry] is certainly a deterrent. We are also aware that these illegal operators are conscious of being closely monitored, which we believe serves as a deterrent in itself.”
In an interview with The Moscow Times on the margins of the NATO defense ministers’ meeting at the organization’s headquarters, Abrahamson warned against interpreting this information as an indication that the Baltic Sea is entirely secure.
“While we acknowledge the current situation, it’s essential to recognize that the threat remains. There are still opportunities for illegal shippers or other entities to provoke incidents or engage in harmful activities, which is why the Baltic Sentry operation persists,” he noted.
The Baltic Sentry initiative was established after a series of incidents in late 2024 where ships dropped or dragged anchors, leading to damage or severance of undersea cables between Estonia and Finland.
The Baltic Sea is predominantly bordered by NATO member nations, with the exception of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. Several of these member countries are strong supporters of Ukraine and are committed to an enhanced defense strategy.
NATO countries have accused Russia of deploying hybrid warfare tactics in the area.
Russia has refuted allegations of targeting undersea cables in the region. Analysts caution that the use of Russia’s unregistered “shadow fleet” complicates the situation, leaving ambiguity regarding whether the damage was unintentional or deliberate.
Attacking underwater infrastructure can have severe repercussions on countries’ power, internet, telecommunications, and gas supplies.
One undersea cable that was severed in November 2023, linking Lithuania and Sweden, accounted for approximately one-third of Lithuania’s internet capacity.
This month, a Finnish court dismissed sabotage charges against three crew members of the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker that dragged its anchor for about 90 kilometers on December 25, 2024. The event resulted in damage to the EstLink 2 power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia, incurring an estimated cost of $70 million.
The question of whether Russia was culpable was not examined in the trial.
The Baltic Sentry operation aims to identify suspicious activities by tracking how ships and aircraft diverge from their intended courses.
Abrahamson stated that he does not have specific data to indicate whether the level of such activities has diminished since January, mentioning that fluctuations can vary from week to week or month to month.
