Repairs to damaged Baltic Sea cable to begin next week

Repair work on the undersea cable connecting Finland and Germany could begin as early as next Monday, depending on weather conditions.

Cable repair vessel. — Archival photo of the repair vessel Cable Vigilance. Image: Martin Witte/AOP

Repair in damaged underwater telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany could begin as early as next Monday.

The repair ship Cable Vigilance is due to depart from Calais, France, on Thursday evening, said Cinia, the Finnish state-owned company that manages the cable.

The crucial undersea telecommunications cable C-Lion1, connecting Finland to Germany, was cut on Monday this week, apparently deliberately.

Cinia said repairs will begin after the weekend, on Monday, depending on weather conditions. The message said the cable would be repaired by the end of the month. To fix it, a repair vessel lifts the damaged cable from the seabed.

Meanwhile, the Swedish Armed Forces have submitted an initial report to police regarding cable damage in the Baltic Sea, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported.

The Swedes’ report is based on research carried out by their navy on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Although the Swedish Navy said its report provided possible explanations for why the cable was damaged, it declined to comment on its findings.

The Kremlin denied any involvement in the incident.