Russian undersea pipeline attacks pose billions in threat to Europe and America — NATO
Europe and North America face vulnerability to “undersea hybrid warfare,” as Russia has developed the capability to sever cables responsible for maintaining online communications, Didier Maleterre, deputy commander of the security alliance’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) and former submariner, said, The Daily Mail reported on April 16.
“More than 90 percent of the Internet is under the sea,” he said.
“All our links between the U.S., Canada, and Europe are transmitting under the sea, so there are a lot of vulnerabilities.”
The Russians have developed numerous hybrid methods of conducting undersea warfare to disrupt the European economy, through cables, internet cables, pipelines, and more, Maleterre said.
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“That’s a very important concern because it’s a security issue for nearly 1 billion NATO-nation civilians,” he said.
Maleterre’s warning comes just weeks after the UK’s think-tank Policy Exchange published a report urging government ministers to develop a strategy for ‘seabed warfare,’ the publication said.
The report calls for a plan to guard subsea assets to be prioritized in the Royal Navy’s maritime doctrine.
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The foreword pointed out that Russia has already begun exploring the Atlantic’s undersea infrastructure as a weak point in the region’s national security. Suspicious Russian activity in nearby waters, mysterious cable-cutting incidents, and concerns about undersea infrastructure vulnerabilities signal that the Alliance has “arrived in a new era of undersea warfare.”
Balticconnector pipeline damage
Seismologists from the not-for-profit Norwegian research foundation NORSAR reported on Oct. 10 that they had detected signs of an explosion in the Baltic Sea near Finland on the night the Balticconnector gas pipeline was damaged.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline accident occurred overnight on Oct. 7-8, when a pressure drop was recorded amid a severe storm. The gas supply was cut off, and damage and a malfunction in the communication cable between Finland and Estonia were detected.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation is checking data on Russian and Chinese vessels that were near the site of the Balticconnector gas pipeline accident on Oct. 17.
The Finnish police stated that the Balticconnector was likely damaged by the vessel Newnew Polar Bear under the flag of Hong Kong.
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