A recent undersea power cable outage between Finland and Estonia has sparked alarm in the Baltic region, raising fears of possible sabotage. The EstLink 2 cable, which connects the two nations, experienced an unexpected interruption on December 25, 2024, at 12:26 p.m. local time. Finland’s electricity grid operator, Fingrid, reported the issue, and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo confirmed the incident. Authorities are investigating the cause, though sabotage remains a possibility.
This outage follows several similar disruptions in the area. In November 2024, two telecom cables between Sweden and Denmark were severed, with suspicions of sabotage involving a Chinese ship, Yi Peng 3. The same ship was implicated in October 2023 in the damage of an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. These incidents, combined with the mysterious 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, have raised concerns about the security of undersea infrastructure in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the outage has not disrupted Finland’s electricity supply, the event highlights the growing vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the Baltic. Investigations continue, with authorities focusing on the security of these vital cables and pipelines. The EstLink 2 outage serves as a stark reminder of the region’s heightened tensions and the need to safeguard essential infrastructure from potential threats.
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