Suspicion of sabotage: Nordbalt cable damage linked to China
Sweden has discovered damage to another cable in the Baltic Sea. This time, the issue concerns the Nordbalt cable, which connects Sweden with Lithuania. According to the Swedish Minister of Defence, the damage was caused by an anchor dragging along the sea floor.
Swedish Minister of Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin reported that traces of damage caused by an anchor being dragged were discovered on the Nordbalt cable connecting Sweden with Lithuania, as reported by SVT.
According to the minister, this damage was likely caused by the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The same boat damaged cables between Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, and Finland over approximately 160 kilometres while dragging an anchor on 17-18 November. Investigators looking into the incident suspect that this action was deliberate and that Russian intelligence services recruited the ship's captain.
Deliberate sabotage actions?
On 25 December, the tanker Eagle S, belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, damaged one of the cables between Estonia and Finland on the Baltic Sea floor. Carl-Oskar Bohlin emphasised that all these incidents might be related to the planned disconnection of the Baltic countries from the energy grid of Belarus and Russia (BRELL) in February.
- What the Swedish media is reporting shows that we really cannot believe in coincidences regarding what is happening in the Baltic Sea. We must take these cases of sabotage or attempts to sabotage that infrastructure very seriously. And this shows that a quick NATO reaction is necessary in order to protect the interests of our consumers and our, in essence, entire infrastructure, both the electricity market and price stability - commented on the incident for LRT Radio Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Energy Arnoldas Pikžirnis.
Swedish Prime Minister on "state of war"
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson highlighted the hybrid attacks, suspected sabotage in the Baltic, and the war waged by third parties on its territory on Sunday. He stated that his country is not in a state of war but also not living in peacetime.
The Prime Minister also emphasised that this is Sweden's first time allocating resources for NATO forces. He noted that Sweden has the longest Baltic Sea coastline compared to other countries; therefore, it takes on the greatest responsibility for its security.
