Subsea Cables News

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

Taiwan's coast guard said it detained a China-linked cargo ship on Tuesday after a nearby undersea cable to the Penghu Islands in the sensitive Taiwan Strait was disconnected.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about "grey zone" Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging.Taipei was alarmed after a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging another cable earlier this year…

Subsea cable services company Asso.subsea has introduced the Marine Technology Business Unit, a strategic initiative dedicated to shipbuilding, innovation and sustainability in offshore energy.The new unit marks a significant milestone in the company’s long-term shipbuilding and fleet expansion plans, reinforcing its commitment to delivering cutting-edge marine solutions tailored to the evolving needs of subsea operations.The launch of the unit is officially inaugurated with the signing of the first shipbuilding contract for the Althea…

Space Norway is set to establish new high-speed connection from the Norwegian mainland to Jan Mayen and Svalbard.Space Norway has signed a contract with SubCom for the full system supply of the Arctic Way Cable System, including survey, design, manufacturing and installation. Scheduled to commence service in 2028, this new system will become a critical asset for transmitting data traffic between the mainland, Jan Mayen, and Svalbard archipelago."While establishing new fibre infrastructure…

An underwater Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable was damaged by an "external impact," Russia's TASS news agency cited the country's state-owned Rostelecom company as saying on Saturday."Rostelecom's submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea as a result of an external impact some time ago," TASS cited Rostelecom as saying.Restoration work is under way and the incident has had no impact on subscribers so far, Rostelecom added.Rostelecom did not provide further details and it was unclear when the damage occurred.

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…

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…

Windward has launched a Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection solution, an AI-powered solution designed to protect the world’s essential maritime infrastructure against growing threats.Windward’s Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection solution addresses three primary threats to maritime infrastructure, deep-sea research operations, shallow-water sabotage, and attacks on offshore oil rigs and platforms. The AI-powered solution monitors high-risk vessels to flag suspicious activities…

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…

Shipping companies using the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, may face a new fee to help finance the protection of critical undersea cables, Estonia’s defense minister suggested on Wednesday. The proposal comes in response to a series of breaches that have raised security concerns.Last week, NATO announced plans to deploy frigates, patrol aircraft, and drones in the Baltic Sea following multiple incidents where ships allegedly damaged power and communication cables with their anchors in suspected acts of sabotage.Beyond military patrols…

The US and Norway have agreed on further steps to increase the security of subsea infrastructure including better involvement of the private sector.The US and Nordic-Baltic countries, including Norway, have agreed to:• Harmonize and develop channels and procedures for sharing real-time situational awareness and incident information within national governments, across allies, and between public and private sector stakeholders, including incorporating private sector disruption notifications• Identify opportunities for public-private partnerships to improve repair and maintenance fleet capacity…

Taiwan will dispatch its navy if needed to help the coast guard respond to any suspicious activity near undersea communication cables, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Thursday, after a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging one.Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, said a ship owned by a Hong Kong company but registered both in Cameroon and Tanzania damaged a cable to the north of the island earlier this month, although it says it has not been able to verify the ship's intentions and was unable to board it due to bad weather.The ship's owner has denied involvement, and

Taiwan and China traded barbs over what the government in Taipei suspects was a Chinese-linked ship's damage to an undersea communications cable off the island's coast, an incident that has raised alarm bells on the island.The ship owner, speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, said there was no evidence the ship was involved. Taiwan's coast guard suspects the ship damaged the cable off the island's northern coast late last week, but was unable to board it to investigate due to bad weather.The coast guard said it "cannot rule out the possibility" the ship…

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…

A few choice 'news of note' from other leading new sources around the globe - January 6, 2025.2025 Target: $18.5B in Shipbuilding OrdersAccording to Business Korea, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering set its shipbuilding target for 2025 at $18.5B, a mammoth jump from last year's $13.5B target. Of the $18.5B, $9.7 is targeted to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries; $3.8B for HD Hyundai Mipo; and $4.5B for HD Hyundai Samho.In the Navy [Business]In related but separate news from the South Korean shipbuidling sector…

A pair of telecomm cables appeared to have been torn apart by a strong external force, Finland's Elisa said today, adding that they had now been repaired. The cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea on Dec. 25, 2024.Finnish police seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on Dec. 26 and said they suspected that the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables on Christmas Day by dragging its anchor across the seabed."The current suspicion is that the external force has been caused by an anchor…

A Finnish court on Friday 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.Finland on Dec. 26 seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion that it damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and the telecoms cables the previous day by dragging its anchor across the seabed.A lawyer representing United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, which owns the tanker…

Finnish authorities are moving an impounded tanker closer to port after boarding the vessel carrying Russian oil earlier this week on suspicion it had damaged an undersea power line and four telecoms cables.Baltic Sea nations have been on high alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the region.The Cook Islands-registered ship, named by authorities as the Eagle S…

Estonia's armed forces have launched a naval operation to protect the Estlink 1 undersea power cable in the Baltic Sea in response to the damage this week of a parallel electricity line, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Friday.Finland on Thursday seized a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion the vessel caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable which, like Estlink 1, connects Finland and Estonia, and that it also damaged four internet lines.Baltic Sea nations are on high alert for acts of sabotage following a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelin

Belgium-based offshore installation contractor Jan De Nul, in partnership with Greek cable maker Hellenic Cables, has entered into a framework agreement to supply and install export cables for two 750 MW floating wind farms off the coast of Southern Brittany in France.The agreement was signed with France's transmission system operator RTE, which is developing an offshore power grid to connect future wind farms.Jan De Nul will install the cables that transport the renewable energy…

China has allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board a Chinese bulk carrier at the centre of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, the Danish foreign minister said on Thursday.The Yi Peng 3 vessel is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fibre-optic cables in November, and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed the matter.Investigators quickly zeroed in on the ship, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov.

Marine construction contractor Red7Marine has supported subsea solutions specialist N-Sea Group in a critical export cable repair project for the 576 MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.With complete delivery of two jack-up barges, supporting tugs, a 220t telescopic crawler crane, accommodation and catering service, Red7Marine’s end-to-end package enabled N-Sea to focus on its project goals of completing the repair project.N-Sea Group was contracted by an Offshore…

The damaging of two undersea telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea should be presumed to be sabotage, Germany said on Tuesday, while Lithuania's armed forces boosted surveillance of its waters in response."No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. I also don't want to believe in versions that these were ship anchors that accidentally caused the damage," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said before a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels.Two fibre-optic cables - one linking Finland and Germany…