Russia's Baltika telecommunication cable damaged in the Gulf of Finland

The Russian Baltika telecommunications cable that connects St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, was damaged in the Gulf of Finland. It is believed that the incident occurred on October 8, Yle reports.

Russian telecom operator Rostelecom notified Finland about the damage on October 12 as the cable partially runs through the economic zone of Finland. According to the Finnish Ministry of Labor and Economic Development, the Russian company conducted negotiations with the authorities of Finland to repair the cable.

The Spasatel Karev ship is currently working at the scene of the incident. The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard (SLMV) published a photo of the cable damage.

"There is nothing unprecedented about this. As we know, sea cables may rupture for one reason or another and need to be repaired from time to time," Mikko Hirvi, Deputy Head of the Coast Guard of the Gulf of Finland said.

The duration of repairs depends on weather conditions, but it will definitely take several days, the official said adding that the Finnish side would take care of the normal movement of ships in the area.

Damage to Baltika cable could be linked with Balticconnector gas pipeline accident

Mikko Hirvi said in an interview with Finnish publication Helsingin Sanomat that the cable could have been damaged on October 8 at the same time when the emergency occurred on the Balticconnector gas pipeline.

Earlier, the Finnish police discovered an object near the damaged gas pipeline that was later identified as a ship anchor. Investigators suggest that the anchor could have damaged the telecommunications cable between Sweden and Estonia.

The Chinese ship flying the Hong Kong flag, the Newnew Polar Bear, appears to be the main suspect in the Balticconnector accident. According to the deputy head of the coast guard of the Gulf of Finland, the same anchor could cause damage to the Russian cable.