NATO to Expand Patrols in Baltic Sea After Undersea Cables Incident [Video]

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Friday said the alliance will increase patrols in the Baltic Sea region after Finland seized an oil tanker suspected of having damaged undersea power and internet cables this week.

Finnish customs officials and European Union officials have alleged that the ship, the Eagle S, belongs to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

Why It Matters

Disruptions were reported on Christmas Day in power and data connections between Finland and Estonia in the Gulf of Finland, where the Eagle S passed at the same time, according to publicly available vessel-tracking data.

The damage of up to five submarine cables is the latest incident of undersea cables being disconnected, or deemed to have been deliberately sabotaged, in the Baltic Sea. NATO maintains a strong presence in the region, which holds strategic interest to Russia.

Such cables are crucial to countries, and NATO has said around 99 percent of the world’s data runs through undersea cables.