Finland Confirms Russia’s Successful Repair of Baltic Sea Telecoms Cable

Russia has finished repairing a damaged telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, according to Finland’s coast guard. The cable was initially damaged around six weeks ago, alongside a gas pipeline and other communication cables. Investigators from both Finland and Estonia suspect that a Chinese container vessel, the NewNew Polar Bear, caused the extensive damage by dragging its anchor over the sea bed. Finnish authorities have been closely monitoring the repair work carried out by a Russian salvage ship called the Spasatel Karev, which was located in Finland’s economic zone. The Finnish coast guard confirmed that no violations of the Economic Zone Act or permit conditions were discovered during their surveillance operation. The repaired cable, known as the Baltika cable, is owned by state-owned Rostelecom and stretches 1,000 kilometers from the region of St. Petersburg to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the southern Baltic Sea coast.