NATO establishes military task force to protect Baltic Sea from Russian sabotage

The leaders of eight Baltic countries met in Helsinki on Tuesday to announce the establishment of a Baltic Sentry, a joint military operation designed to protect the Baltic Sea’s underwater infrastructure following a series of suspected Russian sabotage attacks.

The leaders of Estonia, Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and Sweden were joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit, where the growing concerns over underwater infrastructure security were discussed.

By increasing the number of maritime patrol aircraft and establishing a fleet of naval drones aimed at deterring any future attempts to sabotage power cables and other vital communication infrastructure, Baltic Sentry aims to end the recent spate of attacks.

Finland convened the summit after damage to Estlink 2, a power cable which connects Estonia and Finland, was detected shortly after the Eagle S, an oil tanker that has been linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, was seen nearby on 25 December.

The Eagle S is suspected of dragging its anchor across the seabed for several kilometres to damage Estlink 2, and the vessel’s anchor was indeed missing when Finnish authorities seized the ship, though the anchor was later recovered by a Swedish submarine.

British specialist shipping journal Lloyd’s List also reported that Eagle S was equipped with listening equipment designed to monitor NATO naval activity in the Baltic Sea, and that it had been transformed into a “spy ship” according to an anonymous source.

In a joint statement following the summit, the eight leaders condemned Russia’s use of its so-called shadow fleet, which it said posed “a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic sea region and globally.”