Kontrolle über das Mehr und die Daten

Im November 2024 kam es zu Störungen auf hoher See. Wie die Tagesschau meldet, wurde das chinesische Frachtschiff „Yi Peng 3“ auf seiner Reise durch die Ostsee von europäischen Sicherheitsbehörden angehalten. Der Grund für den Stopp war die Nähe des Schiffs zu zwei Unterwasserkabeln, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt beschädigt wurden.

Germany is contributing extensive Bundeswehr capacities to a corresponding NATO mission. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this after a Baltic Sea summit in the Finnish capital Helsinki. “We will participate with all the naval capabilities we have”.

Disruptions began in November 2024. The Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 was detained while sailing through the Baltic Sea. German newspaper Tagesschau reports that the vessel caught the attention of European authorities because it was near two damaged underwater cables.

These are considered attacks on the web economy. The C-Lion 1 data cable connects Finland with Germany. Meanwhile, the BCS-East-West Interlink data cable connects Lithuania with the Swedish island of Gotland. As Tagesschau reports, AIS data reveals that the Chinese ship passed through the cable when the data traffic suddenly failed.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock then released a statement with several EU colleagues expressing her “deep concern” about the incident.

Overall, European security seems to be threatened by these hybrid attacks. Finland, which is a member of NATO and shares a border with Russia, has become a potential hub for these attacks.

On Christmas Day, several deep-sea cables were damaged off the Finnish coast. The C-Lion1 fiber optic cable between Rostock, Germany, and Helsinki was affected again. The authorities suspect sabotage by Russia's so-called shadow fleet, as Deutschlandfunk reported.

The so-called shadow fleet includes vessels that allegedly aid Russia to export crude oil, among other things. Some of them are illegal because they circumvent EU sanctions. Moscow often uses old tankers from other countries.

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo expressed his alarm on Tagesschau: “We have to find new, strong methods to deal with this”.

Finland is now doing its best to protect the seas. On the evening of December 26, investigators boarded the suspicious “Eagle S” in the Baltic Sea. It was strangely close to the Estlink 2 power line between Estonia and Finland, where communication had suddenly failed the day before.

"Eagle S" sailed under the Cook Islands flag and it's assumed as part of the Russian shadow fleet. Moscow's use of these has raised fears of possible accidents, due to its age and the uncertainty regarding insurance. The Estonian government called an emergency meeting because of the incident.

“Almost every month, ships are currently damaging important submarine cables in the Baltic Sea,” warned Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to the Funke media group. According to her, submarine cables are “the communication arteries that hold our world together.”

This is the third incident of its type. Johannes Peters, from the University of Kiel, points out that this shows “a relatively identical pattern, that a ship that is at least connected to Russia is using its anchor to cause damage with conspicuous maneuvers over critical infrastructure, data cables and power lines.” One can hardly call this a coincidence anymore, he told Deutschlandfunk.

NATO Secretary General Marc Rutte announced a higher military presence in the Baltic Sea. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said further measures, including sanctions, would be proposed to combat the Russian shadow fleet.

Russia uses tankers sailing under foreign flags to export crude oil and oil products, despite international sanctions, with its shadow fleet. The country is using the shadow fleet to finance the Russian war budget, according to a joint statement by the EU Commission and Foreign Affairs High Representative Kaja Kallas.

The expert sees less of a danger in terms of hybrid warfare than for environmental reasons. The tankers are in a questionable technical condition. The accident of such a ship with an oil spill would be devastating for the Baltic Sea. Its highly sensitive ecosystem is already under a lot of strain. For this reason alone, the Russian shadow fleet is a danger.

German dairy Handelsblatt reports that submarine cables off the coast of Taiwan were apparently sabotaged. The government there suspects China. “The possibility cannot be ruled out.” However, no direct evidence of this has been presented.

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