Protecting NATO's underwater lifelines: Countering Russian threats

A significant challenge for NATO is protecting the underwater infrastructure of Alliance countries, including cables and pipelines. "The Russians are not only mapping the critical infrastructure lines of NATO countries, but they are also preparing for potential sabotage attacks," warns James Appathurai from NATO Headquarters. He adds that Russia is most active beneath the surface of the Baltic Sea.

Appathurai is acting as Deputy Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber Threats at NATO. He recently participated in experimental exercises of Alliance countries in Portugal.

"We are observing an increasing level of threats and hybrid actions against NATO countries, mainly from Russia," he said when asked by PAP during the experimental NATO REPMUS exercises in Portugal. This includes cyber-attacks, disinformation, political interference, forced migration, threats to infrastructure, and a growing number of sabotage acts.

He emphasized, "One of these threats is the potential sabotage of the critical infrastructure of NATO countries, which lies at the bottom of the seas."

The Russians have been using the so-called underwater research program for decades to map our critical infrastructure. This program is very well funded, and the Russians attach great importance to it, he told journalists.

He added, "They not only map the critical infrastructure lines of NATO countries, but they are also preparing for potential sabotage attacks. They have remotely controlled underwater devices that can damage underwater pipelines or cables."

He further noted that this threat is not only kinetic but also cybernetic. In his opinion, "The body of water where Russia is most active under the sea's surface is the Baltic Sea," but it also operates in the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.

As he said, NATO's response to these actions is the creation at the strategic level of the so-called critical underwater infrastructure network. This involves building a system for exchanging information between the commands of NATO countries, companies, capitals of Alliance countries, and NATO Headquarters.

"What we are doing now is developing tools that allow data exchange between space and the seabed," said Appathurai, explaining that elements of this system include sensors on the seabed along cables or pipelines, underwater drones, ships and vessels, planes, flying drones, and satellites.

All these elements provide a vast amount of data, so their analysis requires the use of artificial intelligence systems. "Thanks to this, it is possible to identify, for example, ships that have changed course unusually, docked at a suspicious port, turned off transponders, or passed close to another suspicious ship."

At the operational level, a naval command has been established in the United Kingdom, which has created a special cell. "It has direct contact with operators of critical underwater infrastructure, i.e., cables and pipelines, both transporting gas and oil."

Appathurai flew to Portugal to participate in the REPMUS exercises—annual manoeuvres organized and conducted by the Portuguese Navy and NATO with the participation of foreign armed forces, universities, and companies. Representatives of NATO countries meet in Portugal to test the ability of autonomous systems to work together and increase understanding of new threats in the maritime environment.

During REPMUS, not only aerial drones are tested, but also surface, underwater, and ground drones. "Artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in their operation," he noted.

According to exercise participants, the role of unmanned vehicles on the battlefield will grow, and NATO must be prepared for this, especially since Russia and China are working intensively on the development of these technologies.

According to NATO, 99 percent of global data is transmitted through the global network of submarine cables. It is estimated that financial transactions worth 7 trillion Canadian dollars pass through these extensive cable networks every day. In addition to data cables, critical underwater infrastructure includes electrical cables and pipelines delivering oil and gas.

In January 2022, an underwater data transmission cable connecting Norway with its Arctic archipelago Svalbard was damaged. In October 2023, damage was detected to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. Soon after, more damage was discovered to nearby underwater cables connecting Finland and Estonia and a cable linking Estonia and Sweden.

According to media reports, which cited information from the investigation, "The damage was likely caused by a ship registered in Hong Kong," which dragged its anchor along the seabed while traversing the route, during which it repeatedly docked at Russian ports in the Baltic Sea.