An increasingly frequent number of cases of damage to undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea have been reported since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Wilson Center has mapped these cases, and put together a timeline covering what happened, where it happened, and who is suspected.
September 26th, 2022
The Nord Stream 1 & 2 gas pipelines, running between Russia and Germany, are blown up. While Swedish and Danish investigations failed to identify those responsible, the German investigation suspects the attack was carried out by Ukrainian special forces.
October 8th, 2023
The Balticconnector gas pipeline, running between Finland and Estonia, is ruptured in the middle of the night. The Chinese-flagged container ship Newnew Polar Bear is identified as the main suspect, but escapes before it can be reached by authorities. The Chinese government later admits the ship was at fault for the rupture, though rejects the notion that it was intentional.
November 18th, 2024
The BCS East-West Interlink data cable, running between Sweden and Lithuania, is severed. The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga three days prior, is quickly identified as the culprit and stopped by Danish authorities on the Kattegat sea. After China initially refused investigators permission to board the vessel, it was allowed to continue its journey on December 21st. The investigation is still ongoing.
November 18th, 2024
Just a few hours after the data cable between Sweden and Lithuania is severed, the C-Lion1 Data cable between Finland and Germany suffers the same fate. The break is quickly linked to the same vessel, Yi Peng 3.
December 25th, 2024
The Estlink 2 power cable running between Finland and Estonia is severed, slashing the power transfer capacity between the two countries by almost 70%. The Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker Eagle S, suspected to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, is quickly identified as responsible and swiftly boarded and brought to shore by Finnish authorities. Investigations are still ongoing.
January 26th, 2025
A fiberoptic TV & radio cable running between Sweden and Latvia is severed. The Malta-flagged carrier Vezhen and Norwegian-flagged but Russian-operated Silver Dania are initially suspected and apprehended by Swedish and Norwegian authorities, but all suspicions of deliberate sabotage are later dropped.
January 26th, 2025
In February, Cinia detected a disturbance on the C-Lion1 submarine cable between Finland and Germany. The disturbance did not affect the functionality of telecommunications connections within the cable, and data traffic continued normally. Cinia reported that the damage likely occurred on 26 January 2025 during the more significant cable damage involving the Sweden–Latvia cable, but was only detected in late February. The investigation remains ongoing, though the cable has already been repaired.
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