EU vows to toughen sanctions on Russia's tanker fleet

BRUSSELS. Dec 26 (Interfax) - The European Union intends to introduce additional restrictive measures against the Russian tanker fleet as the Estlink 2 undersea telecommunications cable broke down in the Baltic Sea.

"We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet. In response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as in undersea repair capabilities, and international cooperation," the European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said in a joint statement issued on Thursday.

The document also said the EU is committed to ensuring the resilience and security of Europe's critical infrastructure. "At present, there is no risk to the security of electricity supply in the region," the statement said. The EU bodies are "working with the Finnish authorities on the ongoing investigation" into the incident, in which they suspect a vessel, which they described as "part of Russia's shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment," it said.

On Wednesday, Finnish gas transportation system operator Fingrid announced an outage on the Estlink 2 power grid between Finland and Estonia. On the same day, Finland detained the Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker Eagle S on suspicion of cable damage. The Finnish police are investigating the incident.

Three communication cables between Estonia and Finland were also damaged on Wednesday.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told a press conference in Tallinn on Thursday that he would propose to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that NATO step up the protection of critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea with ships in the wake of the incidents.

"I will contact the NATO secretary general to discuss reinforcing or upgrading the fleet to protect underwater infrastructure," Michal said.