With planes and mine hunters
After damage to the Finnish-Estonian pipeline: NATO wants to strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea
A NATO Awacs reconnaissance aircraft
© Oliver Berg / DPA
After the damage to the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, NATO wants to increase its patrols in the Baltic Sea. Surveillance and reconnaissance flights as well as a fleet of mine hunters will be used.
After the damage to a gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland, the… NATO is increasing its patrols in the Baltic Sea. “Additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights are planned, including with maritime patrol aircraft, Awacs aircraft and drones,” the military alliance said on Thursday. In addition, “a fleet of four mine hunters” will be deployed in the region.
The announcement came after damage was discovered to the Balticconnector pipeline between Finland and Estonia and to a telecommunications cable between Sweden and Estonia.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in close contact with our allies Estonia and Finland as well as our partner Sweden,” said NATO spokesman Dylan White. NATO will “take all necessary measures to ensure the security of allies,” he added.
Northern European countries want to monitor infrastructure more closely
The operating companies of the Balticconnector pipeline noticed a sudden drop in pressure in the pipeline last week. The gas transport was then interrupted and the line has been out of operation since then. According to Finnish authorities, the resulting damage was probably caused “by a mechanical force” from outside. In the event of an act of sabotage, NATO announced a “decisive response” from the military alliance. However, the cause of the incident has not yet been fully clarified.
In the wake of the incident, ten northern European countries, including Finland, Sweden and Estonia, agreed to work on increased surveillance of key infrastructure.
According to the operator, repairs to the pipeline will take at least five months. The pipeline was put into operation in 2019 and has been the only line through which Finland has been able to import gas since natural gas imports from Russia were stopped in May 2022 as a result of the Ukraine war.
The pipeline runs for around 150 kilometers between Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia through the Gulf of Finland in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The affected offshore section in the sea is a good 77 kilometers long.