Engineering:EE-S1

From HandWiki
Short description: Submarine communications cable in Europe
EE-S1
Owners:
Arelion
Landing points
Total length240 km
TopologySingle path with 6 bidirectional lines
Currently lit capacityunknown
TechnologyFibre Optic DWDM
Date of first useJune of 1995 (1995)

EE-S1 is a submarine communications cable between Sweden and Estonia. The cable is 240 km in length and it has three landing points – Kärdla (Estonia), Tallinn (Estonia) and Stavsnäs (Sweden). It became operational in June 1995.[1][2] EE-S1 is owned by the Swedish pension fund AP-fonderna (sv) through its ownership in Arelion. Arelion was previously called Telia Carrier and was part of Telia Group.[3]

Cable damage

In the afternoon of 7 October 2023,[3] the cable was damaged.[4][5] Four of the total six fiberoptic cable pairs were totally destroyed and the remaining two were functional.[3] The location of the damaged cables is 70–80 meters below the sea surface according to the Swedish Navy.[3]

On 17th of Oct 2023, the damage was made public when Swedish government reported the incident. Just a few hours later,[3] the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland was ruptured. Another submarine communications cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged at approximately the same time.[6][7][8] Antti Kaikkonen was quoted saying "There are a bit too many coincidental coincidences for it to be coincidental".[9]

In Estionia, investigation is carried out by KAPO, The Prosecutor's Office and Keskkriminaalpolitsei (ee), and by Keskusrikospoliisi in Finland.[8][3] Swedish submarine rescue ship HSwMS Belos (A214) is assisting in the investigation.[4] Investigation revealed that the damage was clearly man-made.[10]

Russian cargo ship Sevmorput and Chinese cargo ship Newnew Polar Bear are suspected to be involved in the incident. Both ships travelled near EE-S1 precisely at the time of damage. Sevmorput's owner Rosatom denied involvement.[3]

The two ships suspected of causing the damage, left to right: Sevmorput, Newnew Polar Bear

The same two ships also travelled near the Balticconnector precisely at the time of damage, when Norwegian seismic institute Norsar detected seismic waves.[5] The same two ships also travelled near the other damaged submarine communications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn.[5]

After the incidents, both ships travelled in pair to Northern Norway, an area dense with undersea cables and gas pipelines. Norwegian Armed Forces reprioritised part of its activities to maritime surveillance.[11] The seas in Northern Norway are heavily patrolled, but Norwegian Armed Forces declined to provide any comments to the media.[12]

Conclusions

HSwMS Belos (A214) which assisted in the investigation

Investigation concluded that the cable was damaged by external force, with clear marks visible on the seafloor next to the cable.[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Submarine Cable Map". https://www.submarinecablemap.com/submarine-cable/sweden-estonia-ee-s-1. 
  2. ↑ Souisa, Hubert (2023-10-22). "Sweden-Estonia (EE-S 1) Submarine Cable System Map". https://www.fiberatlantic.com/system/ERxk0. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Nyheter, SVT (2023-10-18). "Finländsk polis pekar ut "intressant" ryskt fartyg – färdades över förstörd svensk kabel" (in sv). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/misstankt-ryskt-fartyg-over-trasiga-undervattenskabeln. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nyheter, SVT (2023-10-21). "Svenska marinen på plats vid förstörda undervattenskabeln" (in sv). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/svenska-marinen-undersoker-forstorda-kabeln. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Munukka, Jouni; Bonnor, Maria; Juutilainen, Ville; Eklund, Marko (2023-10-20). "Video näyttää, kuinka kaasuputkirikosta epäilty alus ylittää Ruotsi–Viro-datakaapelin: vaurio tapahtui samoihin aikoihin" (in fi). https://yle.fi/a/74-20056160. 
  6. ↑ Kauppinen, Ina (2023-10-17). "Viron ja Ruotsin välinen tietoliikennekaapeli on vaurioitunut" (in fi). https://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000009929539.html. 
  7. ↑ The Maritime Executive (2023-10-17). "Swedish Telecom Cable Was Damaged at the Same Time as Baltic Pipeline". https://maritime-executive.com/article/swedish-telecom-cable-was-damaged-at-same-time-as-baltic-pipeline. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Sabotage investigated as one possible Estonia-Sweden cable breakage cause". 2023-10-19. https://news.err.ee/1609137785/sabotage-investigated-as-one-possible-estonia-sweden-cable-breakage-cause. 
  9. ↑ Laisi, Erno (2023-10-17). "Antti Kaikkonen Ruotsin ja Viron välisen kaapelin vauriosta: "Liikaa samanlaisia sattumia"" (in fi). https://www.is.fi/politiikka/art-2000009929991.html. 
  10. ↑ "Prosecutor: Evidence suggests communication cable damage is man made". 2023-10-19. https://news.err.ee/1609138901/prosecutor-evidence-suggests-communication-cable-damage-is-man-made. 
  11. ↑ Nilsen, Thomas (2023-10-18). "Russian, Chinese ships spotlighted by Finnish police after pipeline damage, are now pairing up outside northern Norway". https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/10/russian-chinese-ships-spotlighted-finnish-police-after-after-gas-pipeline-damage. 
  12. ↑ Vanhala, Akseli (2023-10-18). "KRP nimesi kaksi alusta, jotka olivat Balticconnectorin lähistöllä yön tunteina – täällä ne liikkuvat nyt" (in fi). https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000009931566.html. 
  13. ↑ Nyheter, SVT (2023-10-24). "Försvarsmakten: Vi ser bottenspår intill trasiga kabeln" (in sv). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/forsvarsmakten-trasig-kabel-i-ostersjon-hade-flyttats. 
  14. ↑ Nyheter, SVT (2023-10-23). "Försvarsmaktens utredning visar – kabeln skadades av yttre påverkan" (in sv). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/forsvarsmakten-utredning-visar-kabeln-skadades-av-yttre-paverkan. 



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