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Gas Pipeline News

14 Mar 2025

Baltic Subsea Cable Repaired

Finland's Cinia said submarine telecoms cable between Finland and Germany had been repaired. Credit: Adobe Stock/norimoto

Finland's Cinia said on Friday its C-Lion1 submarine telecoms cable between Finland and Germany, which was suspected to have been damaged in January, had been repaired.Cinia suspected the damage had occurred in the early hours on January 26 in the same area where damage was detected in another subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia."The cable fault was minor and communications through the cable worked normally," Cinia said in a statement.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable…

05 Mar 2025

Trump Unveils Plan to Revitalize U.S. Shipbuilding, Curb China’s Maritime Dominance

In his address to Congress on March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled a comprehensive strategy aimed at revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding industry and strengthening the maritime sector. This initiative seeks to counter China's dominance in global shipbuilding and bolster national security by enhancing domestic maritime capabilities.Central to the President's plan is an executive order comprising 18 measures designed to rejuvenate U.S. shipbuilding. Key components include imposing fees on Chinese-built ships and cranes entering U.S.

02 Mar 2025

Finland to Release Tanker Suspected of Power Cable Breach

Copyright gankevstock/AdobeStock

Finland will release an oil tanker which investigators believe broke a Baltic Sea power cable and four internet lines late last year, and will escort the vessel to international waters even as the criminal probe continues, police said on Sunday.The Cook Islands-registered Eagle S was boarded by Finland's coast guard on December 26 and has been held in custody while authorities probed the case, which remains under investigation on suspicion of sabotage.Three crew members remain subject to a travel ban and are not allowed to leave Finland, police said in a statement."The criminal investigation c

24 Feb 2025

Baltic Sea Subsea Damage may have Occurred in January

Copyright gankevstock/AdobeStock

Finland's telecoms operator said the damage reported last week to its C-Lion1 telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea may have occurred as early as January 26, the same day a cargo ship broke another undersea cable in the area.Swedish and Finnish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany, while adding it was not immediately clear when the damage had occurred.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable…

23 Feb 2025

Underwater Sabotage: A Baltic Sea Timeline

© dragancfm / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.Several investigations are under way but no suspects have been brought to trial.FEBRUARY 2025: FINLAND-GERMANY TELECOM CABLESwedish and Finnish police said on February 21 they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea…

21 Feb 2025

Sweden Launches Investigation into Possible Baltic Sea Cable Breach

© atdr - stock.adobe.com / Adobe Stock

Sweden is investigating a possible breach of an undersea cable off the country's southwestern coast in the Baltic Sea, the coastguard said on Friday, in an area where multiple seabed cables have been damaged in recent months.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

17 Feb 2025

Trump Grants First LNG Export License, Forms US Oil and Gas Energy Council

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday it has granted a liquefied natural gas export license to the Commonwealth LNG project in Louisiana, the first approval of LNG exports after former President Joe Biden paused them early last year.The exports are approved to go to markets in Asia and Europe.Energy Secretary Chris Wright, whose agency is responsible for approving the shipments, said exporting U.S. LNG "strengthens the U.S. economy and supports American jobs while bolstering energy security around the world."The U.S.

13 Feb 2025

Patrolling the Baltic, Estonian Navy is Prepared to Stop Vessels

Copyright Wojciech Wrzesień/AdobeStock

Estonia's navy is prepared to act against vessels that pose a danger to Baltic Sea infrastructure even if they are in international waters, a senior official patrolling the busy Gulf of Finland shipping lane said.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most were caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors.While some of the underwater breaches have been ruled accidental…

09 Feb 2025

Baltic States Switch from Russian to European Power Grid

Source: EU Commission

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania completed a switch from Russia's electricity grid to the EU's system on Sunday, severing Soviet-era ties amid heightened security after the suspected sabotage of several subsea cables and pipelines.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the move, years in the planning, as marking a new era of freedom for the region, in a speech at a ceremony in Vilnius alongside the leaders of the three countries and the Polish president."These chains of power lines linking you to hostile neighbours will be a thing of the past…

06 Feb 2025

Captains of Ships Damaging Baltic Cables could be Sanctioned

Copyright katestudio/AdobeStock

Captains of ships that damage underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea such as telecoms cables or pipelines should be put under EU sanctions to deter such acts, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday.Sikorski said Poland, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, wanted the proposal to be part of the next, 16th package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which is now under discussion among EU governments.The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable…

04 Feb 2025

Japan's Mitsui Eyes Alaska LNG Project

© AA+W / Adobe Stock

Japanese trading house Mitsui could consider studying a project to liquefy natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. state of Alaska, but no decisions have been made yet, Chief Financial Officer Tetsuya Shigeta said on Tuesday.Japan is considering offering support for a $44-billion gas pipeline in Alaska as it seeks to court U.S.

03 Feb 2025

Baltic Sea Cable Break an Accident, says Sweden

Copyright A.Freund/AdobeStock

Bad weather, bad equipment and poor seamanship ... the recipe for many at sea accidents ... was the culprit in a recent subsea cable break; not sabotage with Russia and China fingerprints.These are the findings of a Swedish prosecuter when discussing why the  Maltese-flagged cargo ships Vezhen was released, because the did damage it did to the subsea cable linking Sweden and Latvia was an accident, not sabotage.The incident took place on Jan. 26 and was one of several in recent months…

31 Jan 2025

Norwegian Police Boards Second Ship in Baltic Sea Cable Damage Probe

Silver Dania cargo ship (Credit: Silver Sea)

Norwegian police said on Friday they had seized and boarded a Norwegian ship with an all-Russian crew on suspicion of involvement in causing damage to a telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, the second vessel to be named by investigators in the case.The Silver Dania cargo ship was seized at the request of Latvian authorities, and with the help of Norway's coast guard, police in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsoe said."It is suspected that the ship has been involved in serious damage to a fibre cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden…

16 Jan 2025

Finland: Tanker Sabotage Crew poised to cut cables when caught

©Olli/AdobeStock

Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month, the head of the Finnish investigation said.Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Leaders of the NATO member states around the Baltic Sea are set to meet in Helsinki on Tuesday to discuss the alliance's response to the threat.On Dec.

13 Jan 2025

Russia Accuses Ukraine for Attempted Attack on TurkStream Gas Pipeline

© Photocreo Bednarek / Adobe Stock

Russia said on Monday it had downed nine Ukrainian drones that tried to attack part of the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, through which Russian gas flows to Turkey and Europe.The Russian defence ministry said the attack was aimed against a compressor station in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, but the facility was working normally and there were no casualties.Reuters could not independently confirm the incident, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.TurkStream and Blue Stream…

08 Jan 2025

Vessel in Baltic Cable Cut Case "Has Serious Deficiencies", says Finland

Copyright Denys Yelmanov/AdobeStock

Finland's public transport agency said that an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea was found to have serious deficiencies and will not be allowed to operate until repairs have been made.Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The NATO military alliance has said it will boost its presence in the region.Finnish police on Dec. 26 seized the Eagle…

16 Jan 2025

Finland Recovers Anchor in Baltic Sea Cable Investigation

©Olli/AdobeStock

Finnish police said on Tuesday they had recovered a lost anchor from the seabed as part of an investigation of suspected sabotage against power and internet cables in the Baltic Sea.Finland last month seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecom cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed."The location where the anchor was found is along the route of the Eagle S ... towards the western end of the drag trace found on the seabed…

03 Jan 2025

Subsea Sabotage in the Baltic Sea - a Timeline for Perspective

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, built across the Baltic Sea by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom GAZP.MM to pump natural gas to Germany, were damaged on Sept. 26, 2022. Copyright scaliger/AdobeStock

A Finnish court today denied a request for the release of an oil tanker suspected by police of damaging an undersea power line and four telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea last week. The incident was one of several since 2022 in which underwater critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea has suffered suspicious damage. Baltic Sea nations are on high alert and NATO has said it will boost its presence in the Baltic Sea.The following is a timeline of major 'incidents' since September 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.SEPT 2022: NORD STREAM BLASTSNord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2…

27 Dec 2024

Maritime Law in Focus as Protecting Subsea Infrastructure Comes to the Fore

Copyright Arif/AdobeStock

Centuries-old international maritime law has to be updated to outlaw damage to undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines, the Estonian justice minister told Reuters after cables connecting it to Finland were again damaged this week.Finnish authorities on Thursday seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia a day earlier, and that it also damaged or broke four internet lines.On Friday…

27 Dec 2024

NATO Bolsters Baltic Sea Ops in Wake of Cable Sabotage

East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) conduct maritime training with Lithuania Special Operators and Portuguese Naval Special Operators from Special Actions Detachment (DAE) as part of Flaming Sword 24, which brought together NATO Special Operations Forces from six Allied nations, to test their readiness to conduct operations in response to increased aggression against its allies. Flaming Sword 24 allows special operations forces to enhance their warfighting skills, build inte

NATO will boost its presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage this week of an undersea power cable and four internet lines, while alliance member Estonia launched a naval operation to guard a parallel electricity link. Finland on Thursday seized a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion the vessel had caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable linking it with Estonia and fibre optic lines, and on Friday said it had asked NATO for support.Baltic Sea nations are on high alert for acts of sabotage after a string of outages of power cables…

26 Dec 2024

Finland Boards Vessel Suspected of Cutting Subsea Cables

Copyright evannovostro/AdobeStock

Finnish authorities said they boarded and took control of an oil tanker travelling from Russia on December 26, 2024, on suspicion it caused the outage of an undersea power cable and three internet lines connecting Finland and Estonia a day earlier.The Cook Islands-registered ship, named by authorities as the Eagle S, was boarded by a Finnish coast guard crew which took command in the Baltic Sea and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters, a coast guard official told a press conference."From our side we are investigating grave sabotage…

26 Dec 2024

Police Looks Into Foreign Ship’s Role in Estonia-Finland Interconnector Outage

(Credit: FinGrid)

Finnish police said on Thursday they are investigating whether a foreign ship was involved in the damage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia following a sudden outage on Wednesday.Baltic Sea nations are on high alert for potential acts of sabotage following a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since 2022, although subsea equipment is also subject to technical malfunction and accidents.The 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power interconnector remains offline following the outage that began at midday local time on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 M

26 Dec 2024

Russian Gas Exports to Europe Rise 20% in 2024

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

Total exports of Russian gas to European countries have so far been 18-20% higher this year than in 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday.In January to November, supplies of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exceeded 50 billion cubic metres, Novak said."Despite all the statements and sanctions pressure because gas is a highly ecological product, it is in demand. And Russian gas is the most cost-efficient, both in terms of logistics and the price…

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