The head of the NATO Center for the Security of Critical Maritime Undersea Infrastructure, Nils Marcussen, considers it an “impossible task” to protect the network of submarine cables and pipelines from sabotage in the Baltic.
As reported by “European Truth”, he said this in an interview with AFP.
According to Marcussen, who is a captain in the Danish Navy, stopping every act of sabotage against critical underwater infrastructure impossible.
“It is impossible to put a ship over every nautical mile of a pipeline or cable – it is an impossible task. There are about 50,000 large ships in the world that can drop anchor and drag it through the infrastructure,” – he said.
The NATO representative added that the Alliance's current efforts to protect infrastructure will not be able to prevent all incidents, but “will have a deterrent effect.”
Countries with access to the Baltic Sea have been trying to strengthen their defenses in recent months after a series of sabotage incidents against underwater infrastructure – including communications cables and pipelines.
This week, NATO announced the launch of a new monitoring mission in the Baltic Sea, involving patrol ships and aircraft, aimed at preventing any attempts to attack underwater infrastructure in the region.
In addition, eight NATO member states with access to the Baltic Sea have announced their action plan in response to suspected cases of damage to underwater infrastructure.