The Finnish government announced on Tuesday that a subsea gas conduit and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea may have been intentionally damaged.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO is sharing its damage information and is prepared to assist the affected allies. Estonia has been a member of the military alliance since 2004, while Finland entered the alliance in April.
The 77-kilometer (48-mile) Balticconnector gas pipeline was shut down early on Sunday due to concerns that gas was seeping from a hole in the pipeline. The Finnish operator Gasgrid estimated that the repairs could take several months.
“It is probable that both the gas pipeline and the communication cable were damaged by external forces. The investigation into the cause of the harm continues in cooperation between Finland and Estonia,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated that the damage to the conduit was “worrying” but that Finland’s energy supply remained stable and the damage to the telecommunications cable did not affect Finland’s overall connectivity.
“It is too soon to determine who or what caused the damage,” Orpo stated during a press conference.
He added that gas accounted for 5% of Finland’s energy supply.
Finnish telecommunications operator Elisa, which operates the damaged cable, told Reuters that the distance between the cable and the Balticconnector pipeline was “significant” but declined to specify the precise distance.
The damage to the gas conduit is believed to have occurred in Finnish waters, while the breach of the telecommunications cable occurred in Estonian waters, according to Finnish authorities.
Prior to the conflict in Ukraine, a portion of the gas transported by the Balticconnector originated from Russia via pipeline, but Finland has ceased importing Russian pipeline gas since last year.
