Another Cable Break in the Baltic

This is the third undersea cable incident in the Baltic since December

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Another undersea cable in the Baltic Sea has been damaged. The cable operator, Cinia says the undersea telecommunications cable running between Finland and Germany is damaged but still functional.

“Some disturbance has been detected on the C-Lion1 submarine cable between Finland and Germany. However, the disturbance does not affect the functionality of telecommunications connections running in the cable, and the data traffic continues flowing normally. The exact cause of the disturbance is still under investigation.”

Cinia says it has reported the incident to Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation and asked it to investigate.

The Swedish Coast Guard told SVT Nyheter they have been aware of the cable damage since Thursday but at this point cannot say for sure when exactly it was damaged. The cable runs through the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic off the coast of the island of Gotland. Relevant authorities are likely analyzing ship movement data to determine a list of suspect vessels.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also commented on this latest cable break.

“I have been aware for some time of the media reports about a possible new cable break in the Baltic Sea. The government is being kept informed by the relevant authorities who are investigating what has happened. We take all reports of possible damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea very seriously. As I said earlier, they must be seen in the context of the serious security situation that exists.”

A Swedish Coast Guard vessel is headed to the scene of this latest cable break in the Baltic. A Dutch naval vessel serving under NATO command also seems to be en route.

This is the third incident involving damaged cables in the Baltic in as many months. An investigation continues in Finland, where a tanker, the Eagle S, is suspected of deliberately damaging an undersea power cable. In another incident just last month, Swedish authorities ruled out sabotage and released a bulk carrier that had been detained after an undersea fibre optic cable was damaged.