Finland and Estonia suspect sabotage

There are still many uncertainties about the circumstances under which the Balticconnector gas pipeline, connecting Estonia and Finland, as well as an underwater communications cable, may have been damaged, during the night of Saturday, October 7 to Sunday, October 8, in the eastern Baltic Sea. If the investigation has only just begun, Helsinki and Tallinn, which had the support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union, are now talking about deliberate action.

The scenario is strangely reminiscent of the still unresolved sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines on September 26, 2022. This time again, the Norwegian Seismological Institute Norsar recorded, on Sunday morning, at 1:20 a.m., a tremor of “magnitude 1” ( Compared to 1.9 and 2.3 for Nord Stream), which indicates… “Possible explosion”Which would have happened about 40 kilometers north of the port of Paldiski in Estonia, where the 77-kilometre gas pipeline departs to reach Enko in Finland.

The gas was then circulating in a 50cm-diameter hose, which was placed on the sea floor, when the pressure suddenly collapsed shortly before 2am. Gasgrid Finland and Elering operators closed valves and interrupted the transmission. After the exam From gas pipeline “Millimeter by millimeter”, According to the Deputy Chief of the Finnish Border Guard, Markku Hasinen, the location of the leak could be identified as early as Tuesday in the Finnish exclusive economic zone.

Investigation into “serious sabotage”

“According to the preliminary assessment, the observed damage cannot be caused by normal use of the pipe or by pressure fluctuations.”Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orpo announced the end of the afternoon at a press conference in Helsinki, believing that… “The leak is likely the result of external interference.”. Alongside him spoke Inspector Timo Kilpellainen from the National Bureau of Investigation “deliberate act”which cannot be “The work of an ordinary person.” With this specified“There are no indications that explosives were used.”. The Finnish police opened an investigation on charges of “aggravated sabotage.”

In Tallinn on Tuesday evening, Estonian Defense Minister Hannu Pefkur estimated the damage “With more force than could be exerted by a diver or a small underwater robot.”. Regarding the submarine cable, the Estonian Navy believes it has identified the place where it could have been damaged, at a depth of 70 meters in Estonian waters. According to Mr. Pefkor, “It is impossible to say whether the two incidents are related.”“Because it happened” In very different geographical locations, although the schedule is very close ».

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