MILAN — Sweden has said it will assist NATO in its efforts to bolster the alliance’s presence in the Baltic Sea by providing up to three warships and other defense equipment to help deter any potential sabotage of undersea infrastructure.
The Swedish military will also contribute one of its ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, manufactured by Saab, and the country’s coast guard will deploy four ships to help patrol the area, a government statement said on Jan 12.
This development comes as the military alliance announced last month that it would enhance its naval posture in the Baltic Sea, following increased concerns about possible Russian activities there.
According to Finnish media reports, NATO is likely to send a maximum of ten warships to the area of interest in an attempt to better protect critical underwater infrastructure, which include in part submarine cables as well as power transmission and telecommunication cables.
The Estonian navy has spearheaded the patrol of the Gulf of Finland, conducting almost continuous circuits through the area, as seen on the live-tracking website Marine Vessel Traffic, with different types of surveillance vessels.
Earlier in December, the Estlink 2 submarine cable that links Finland and Estonia was suspected of having been deliberately damaged. Finnish authorities are currently in custody of the oil tanker Eagle S, believed to be part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet,’ which officials have said may have been the culprit behind the rupture.
A recent report published by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies found that by mid-2024, the Russian ghost fleet carried more than 70 percent of the country’s embargoed oil and by-products.
These clandestine vessels have employed advanced tactics to avoid being detected, including “frequently disabling their automatic identification system transponders to go dark, making it difficult for maritime authorities to track their movements,” the CSIS report said.
It argued that by using its ghost fleet, Moscow has demonstrated “a new form of gray zone warfare,” in which it operates commercial ships such as tankers to carry out delicate military missions.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
