Securing cables on seabeds a task for NATO navy; boarding if necessary

NATO countries are going to expand their military capacity in the Baltic Sea area to better protect cables and pipelines on the seabed. The alliance will keep a close eye on the region with drones and marines, among other things. This was decided during the NATO summit in the Finnish capital Helsinki. 

Since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine, crucial infrastructure has been attacked several times, such as the tearing of cables and pipelines with ship anchors dragged over the seabed. NATO suspects that this is done on Moscow's orders, including by rented oil tankers. 

With its shadow fleet of foreign-flagged ships, Russia is circumventing the oil embargo imposed because of its aggressive war against Ukraine. A ship believed to be part of this fleet is suspected of having severed several cables around Christmas. The Chinese ship has been detained by the Finnish navy.

The destruction of the pipelines on the seabed threatens the supply of electricity and fuels that Europe needs for its economic development. That is why the surveillance by naval vessels in the Baltic Sea is being increased, including some Dutch ones.

In addition, legal and judicial options must be expanded, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said ahead of the NATO meeting in Helsinki. 

The question must be answered whether marines from a country may board a foreign ship if that ship is suspected or caught with a hybrid threat. It is also unclear whether that boarding may be done by NATO.

NATO chief Mark Rutte also pointed out in the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday that Russian terrorist activities against a single Baltic Sea country will still lead to a full NATO response. Putin must know that if he does something in the Baltic Sea region, he will not only hit those countries but all NATO countries, and that he will also have to deal with Berlin, London and The Hague, was his warning to Moscow.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said she had spoken with Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands and that they agreed that there was an “urgent need” to revise international law to deal with forms of hybrid warfare. Chancellor Scholz said this could include specific sanctions against ships, shipping companies and other businesses.