By Barbara Erling and Marek Strzelecki
WARSAW () – The Polish military stepped in when a vessel from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” executed unusual maneuvers close to an electrical cable linking Poland with Sweden, according to statements made by the Polish Prime Minister on Wednesday.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has increased security measures across the Baltics due to several occurrences where power cables, telecommunications connections, and natural gas pipelines were sabotaged.
“Near the power cable linking Poland and Sweden, a vessel from Russia’s ‘shadow fleet,’ which is subject to sanctions, executed unusual movements,” according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s post on X.
Following the successful involvement of our armed forces, the vessel proceeded to one of Russia’s harbors.
The term “shadow fleet” refers to vessels used by Russia to ship oil, arms and grains in violation of international sanctions imposed after the invasion.
Later, when addressing journalists, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kościński-Kamyś stated that a patrol mission drove the vessel away, and the Polish Navy’s ORP Heweliusz was en route to the location.
Rear Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski, who leads Poland’s maritime operations, stated that the tanker in question was named Sun and operated under the Antiguan flag.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw declined to comment. In the past, Moscow has denied its involvement in undersea sabotage in the Baltic, saying the West was using such claims to curb its sea-borne oil exports.
The 600-megawatt submarine cable connects the Swedish coastline close to Karlshamn with Ustka in northern Poland, enabling both power grids to utilize cross-border resources whenever electricity becomes more affordable in the alternative system.
A representative from the Polish grid operator PSE stated that the cable was operational. According to PSE data, approximately 600 megawatts of power were being transmitted to Sweden via the cable at 11:30 GMT.
“This highlights the perilous nature of the era we’re living in and underscores the gravity of the circumstances in the Baltic Sea,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated at a press briefing.
As Sweden and Finland became part of the North Atlantic Alliance, the Baltic Sea has emerged as a crucial maritime zone with frequent occurrences of incidents. The majority involve disruptions due to broken cables and acts of sabotage.
He promised a “strong reaction” from both Poland and NATO against any assault on critical facilities within the Baltic region.
Sweden’s coast guard declined to comment. was not immediately able to reach Sweden’s minister for civil defence.
(Reported by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Marek Strzelecki, Barbara Erling, Terje Solsvik, Stine B Jacobsen; Edited by Alex Richardson and Tomasz Janowski)
