Countries will increase monitoring of ships, including inspections of ships’ insurance certificates.
The leaders of NATO’s eight Baltic countries expressed their determination to counter any attempt to damage critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea following a series of related incidents, and also raised the threat of using Russia of a “shadow fleet”. This was stated in a joint statement on Tuesday, January 14.
“We are determined to deter, detect and counter any sabotage attempts. Any attack on our infrastructure will be met with a decisive response. We are ready, if necessary, to identify enemy actions carried out by malicious actor,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by the President of Finland Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, the Prime Minister of Denmark Matte Frederiksen, the Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics, the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The document was adopted in the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Executive Vice President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen.
“Russia’s use of the so-called “shadow fleet” poses a particular threat to maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and around the world. This shameful act also threatens the integrity of the infrastructure under seas, increasing the risks associated with dumping these chemical munitions at sea, and significantly supporting the financing of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” the text emphasized.
Participants reserve the right, in accordance with international law, to take action against any vessel suspected of evading sanctions and threatening the security of their countries, infrastructure and environment.
Countries will increase monitoring of ships, including inspections of ships’ insurance certificates. In addition, additional measures will be implemented, including the introduction of monitoring tools and the expansion of sanctions against the “shadow fleet”.
The leaders of the Baltic Eight countries called the fight against damaged submarine cables and pipelines a global problem and called on all states to comply with their obligations to adopt the laws and regulations necessary to ensure that such incident on the high seas or exclusive economic zones by a vessel flying their flag or person under their jurisdiction is a punishable offence.
We remind you that at the end of December, damage to four underwater communication cables was recorded in the Baltic Sea.
On December 26, Finland detained the ship Eagle S because one of the communication cables was cut. The ship may be part of the “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation. According to media reports, spy equipment was found here.
Recently, Swedish Defense Minister Karl-Oskar Bohlin said that another cable in the Baltic Sea, Nordbalt, between Sweden and Lithuania, was found to have anchor damage.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.