EU to Set Aside Funds to Protect Undersea Cables from Sabotage

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union will boost funding and surveillance for thousands of miles of undersea cables at risk of sabotage, to better protect the bloc’s energy and digital security.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will channel hundreds of millions of euros from existing budgets and work with private and public investors to roll out so-called “smart cable” systems to function as an early warning system for potential threats, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg News. 

“In the face of increased security threats, the EU must take swift and decisive action,” the draft communication said. “It will act to protect the security of critical maritime infrastructure and hold malicious actors accountable.”

In recent months there have been a number of incidents in the Baltic Sea where telecommunication and power cables strung across the sea floor between countries were damaged or severed by passing ships. Earlier this month, technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen told Bloomberg that there was an “urgent need for action” to combat a growing threat.

The institution will also boost cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and propose establishing a reserve fleet of ships to repair damaged cables, according to the document.

Subsea cables carry internet and power connections across countries and continents and their loss can disrupt digital services, including web access and payments, and force telecommunications providers to reroute traffic. More than 95% of global data traffic goes through subsea cables, according to the International Cable Protection Committee.

An additional €540 million ($563 million) will be invested under the bloc’s Connecting Europe Facility into digital infrastructure, including submarine cables, totaling almost €1 billion under the current budget, the draft document, which is still subject to change, said. The industry currently relies on a small, aging fleet of less than 100 repair ships to cover the globe. 

The commission’s action plan to better protect cables also puts the spotlight on the so-called shadow fleet of ships with obscure ownership and insurance that ferry Russian oil and other cargo in a bid to circumvent sanctions. One such tanker is being investigated by Finnish authorities after its anchor pulled up four data cables and a power link from the seabed late last year.

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