Finland’s Border Guard says it plans to establish a maritime surveillance centre to help prevent damage to critical undersea infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland, amid heightened concerns over cable and pipeline security in the Baltic Sea.
The Baltic region has been on high alert following a series of power cable, telecommunications and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The latest incident occurred on New Year’s Eve, when Finnish authorities seized a cargo vessel travelling from Russia to Israel on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable.
The planned Finnish centre will be developed in cooperation with other Baltic Sea states and the European Commission, and forms part of a wider EU action plan proposed last year to strengthen the protection of submarine cables.
“We are developing, and we have the need for, broader preventive measures, even before any harm has occurred,” said Mikko Hirvi, head of maritime safety and security at the Finnish Border Guard.
He said the measures would include seabed sensors, artificial intelligence tools to analyse maritime traffic in real time, and closer information-sharing with allies. Hirvi declined to say which capabilities are already operational.
The surveillance centre will be built gradually using the Border Guard’s existing resources, and Finland also plans to seek European Union funding for the project.
NATO has stepped up its military presence in the Baltic Sea region with frigates, aircraft and naval drones following repeated infrastructure incidents.
Finnish authorities have previously boarded and seized two vessels suspected of damaging seabed cables by dragging their anchors: the oil tanker Eagle S in December 2024 and the cargo vessel Fitburg in December 2025.
“By seizing the ships, authorities managed to prevent further damage from happening,” Hirvi said.
Mikko Simola, commander of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District, said officials monitor unusual changes in vessels’ speed or course.
“For the past year in particular, we have focused on obtaining real-time information about vessel deviations,” he said.
The Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is escalating further with missile and drone attacks, expanded strikes on key infrastructure, and growing regional fa...
Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two s...
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday, as President D...
At least 70 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a gang attack in Haiti’s Artibonite region, according to two rights organisat...
Israel’s parliament has passed a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis, a move...
The Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is escalating further with missile and drone attacks, expanded strikes on key infrastructure, and growing regional fallout. At the same time, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate began to emerge amid rising global energy and security concerns.
Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were killed in Israeli strikes.
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned the U.S. would obliterate Iran's energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 70 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a gang attack in Haiti’s Artibonite region, according to two rights organisations, as thousands of residents fled the violence in the towns of Jean Denis and Pont Sondé.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the U.S is in talks with the new Iranian regime. He said this in a post on his Truth Social account but warned that the U.S. will "Obliterate" Iran's electric and oil facilities if no deal is reached, especially regarding the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Cuba and the United States have been at odds for more than six decades, with tensions rooted in the 1959 revolution that transformed the island’s political and economic system. Renewed focus on relations comes as Donald Trump’s rhetoric intensifies and conditions on the island worsen.
NASA is aiming to launch its Artemis 2 mission on Wednesday (1 April), sending astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, officials confirmed. According to the Space Administration, the launch window is due to open at 23:24 GMT, with additional opportunities to 6 April if delays occur.
The four astronauts selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission have arrived in Florida, entering the final phase of preparations for the first crewed journey towards the Moon in more than five decades
Russian drone attacks on Ukraine have killed four people, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday (28 March).
At least 70 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a gang attack in Haiti’s Artibonite region, according to two rights organisations, as thousands of residents fled the violence in the towns of Jean Denis and Pont Sondé.
Russia has expelled a British diplomat, accusing him of economic espionage in a move that further strains already tense relations between Moscow and London. The United Kingdom described the action as intimidation and rejected the allegations outright, Reuters reports.
Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico arrived safely in Havana on Saturday, the Mexican Navy said, concluding a journey in which the vessels were delayed by bad weather and briefly reported missing.
China imposed sanctions on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya on Monday, who is a close aide of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, due to his "collusion with Taiwan independence" forces, in its latest move in a diplomatic row over Taiwan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he talked about a possible security partnership on Sunday with Jordan's King Abdullah over defending against drone attacks amid rising tensions over the Iran conflict.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment