Overview
- The Telegraph’s analysis of Global Fishing Watch data published Thursday found more than 500 incidents over four-and-a-half years in which Russian trawlers loitered above or followed charted transatlantic and UK cable routes and identified 17 vessels that repeatedly slowed or traced cable lines.
- UK and NATO officials, including General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, say the pattern looks like deliberate seabed mapping that could let Moscow pinpoint cable locations for a future attack, and the MoD disclosed a covert April patrol in which three Russian submarines were monitored and deterred north of the UK.
- The UK government has announced a reported additional £330 million to strengthen undersea infrastructure protection and is proposing tougher criminal penalties and new powers for ministers to respond to cable incidents, while new surveillance ships and capabilities are being brought into service.
- The EU has imposed sanctions on Russian fishing companies Norebo and Murman Seafood for suspected espionage tied to maritime activity, and both firms deny the allegations and are challenging the measures.
- Undersea fibre cables carry almost all global internet and financial traffic, so experts warn damage could disrupt banks, hospitals and communications; analysts also say the Royal Navy’s repair and protection capacity is strained and that slow-moving trawlers could host remotely operated vehicles to map cables with high precision.