Finland’s Border Guard is establishing a maritime surveillance center to protect critical undersea infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland, collaborating with other Baltic Sea nations and the European Commission. This initiative comes in response to heightened concerns over recent outages of power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The latest incident involved the seizure of a cargo vessel suspected of sabotaging an undersea telecom cable.
In addition to NATO’s increased military presence in the region, the Finnish surveillance center is part of a broader action plan proposed by the European Commission to enhance submarine cable security. Mikko Hirvi, Head of Maritime Safety and Security at the Finnish Border Guard, emphasized the need for proactive measures to prevent damage before it occurs. These measures will involve seabed sensors and AI solutions for real-time maritime traffic analysis.
The center will be developed gradually, leveraging existing capabilities, with plans to seek EU funding. Recent incidents, including the seizure of vessels suspected of damaging undersea cables, highlight the necessity of vigilant monitoring, particularly of unusual vessel movements, as authorities aim to prevent further damage.
