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Helsinki – Better monitoring, faster repairs, and tougher measures against those responsible are included as the European Commission launches an action plan against cable breaks at sea.
“We have seen that almost everything can be used as a weapon against us. We cannot accept that,” says EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen as she presents the plan together with her colleagues Andrius Kubilius and Magnus Brunner at a press conference in Helsinki.
Notably, this occurs simultaneously with the discovery of yet another cable break. The Coast Guard tells TT that the cable break has occurred in the Swedish economic zone and that a cable between Germany and Finland has been damaged.
The plan includes everything from mapping the cables and increased monitoring with the help of underwater sensors and drones, to building a repair fleet and a stock of spare parts.
Although the plan applies to the entire EU, the commission also wants to establish a special regional center for security around the Baltic Sea.
In addition, there is mention of preventive “cable diplomacy” and more measures against the “shadow fleet” of vessels that Russia is accused of using to circumvent the sanctions regarding the war in Ukraine. International maritime law is to be closely scrutinized to see what can be done against the ships, their owners, and cargoes.
“This is a threat to our security and our environment,” Virkkunen says in Helsinki.
(February 21)