Finnish fiber optic network provider Cinia announced on Monday that the Baltic telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Rostock was damaged. Swedish authorities said they were investigating the incident and were in contact with their allies. On Sunday morning, a telecommunication cable running at the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden was damaged, the Swedish company Telia reported. This submarine cable connects to the cable between Helsinki and Rostock.
The Minister of Civil Defense of Sweden Karl-Johan Bolin mentioned the damage to the cable between Helsinki and Rostock and stated that the government is carefully monitoring the development of the situation. – It is very important to get full clarity about the causes of this incident, – he emphasized. The Minister stated that the relevant departments have started explanatory work.
Swedish Armed Forces spokesman Henrik Nystroem assured that the military “has a clear picture of the situation in the region” and is sharing information with both “affected persons and allies”.
The suspension was recorded on Monday morning. The reason for the failure is still unknown.
Deliberate action cannot be ruled out
According to the main national telecommunication operators, the incident has not yet affected the transmission of data and the provision of services. The cable, as reported at the press conference, was cut in about half of the section that passes through the Swedish economic zone, on the east coast of the southern coast of Åland Island.
At this time, it is not possible to assume that a sabotage took place, but the cable was probably damaged by an impact, and an intentional act cannot be ruled out, Cinia officials said.
A repair ship is coming from France. The estimated initial repair period is from a few to several days.
The C-Lion 1 cable, which is about 1,173 km long, is located at the bottom of the Baltic Sea and was commissioned in 2016. It connects Central Europe with Finland, other Scandinavian countries and Asia. The local press reminds that the cable runs on the same route as the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
C-Lion 1 cable under the Baltic Sea Google Maps
Lack of telecommunication cable under the sea between Lithuania and Sweden
However, on Sunday morning, a telecommunications cable running on the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden was damaged, the Swedish company Telia reported on Monday.
According to Andrius Semeskevicius, the company's chief technical officer, it is not yet clear whether the cable failed due to damage or was intentionally interrupted. However, Semeskevicius, quoted by Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, assured that the problem would not cause serious disruptions in data transmission and that customers would use alternative connections.
The undersea cable between Lithuania and Sweden connects to the cable between Helsinki and Rostock, Germany.
Main photo source: Google Maps
