Finland, Baltic countries, EU commission launch maritime monitoring centre

Finland’s Border Guard, in cooperation with other Baltic Sea countries and the European Commission, is creating a maritime monitoring centre to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland.

According to the Border Guard, all Baltic Sea countries are planning to establish centres, but Finland is leading the project, Caliber.Az reports via Finnish media.

The decision comes amid heightened regional alert in the Baltic Sea following a series of incidents involving damage to power cables, telecommunications lines, and gas pipelines since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius previously noted that Russia is intensifying hybrid activities against European states, testing their resilience, including in the Baltic Sea, where NATO fighter jets regularly intercept Russian military aircraft.

On January 21, a major power outage occurred on Denmark’s Bornholm Island after an underwater cable connecting it to Sweden failed. Finnish military intelligence believes Russia is likely to continue attempts to damage underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

By Jeyhun Aghazada