NATO on high alert: Russian ships' suspicious maneuvers in North Sea

According to the British newspaper "The Times," the suspicions are based on data from companies servicing key oil and gas drilling platforms, pipelines, power, and telecommunications cables.

No sabotage has been detected on Belgian or Dutch cables. But explosives have been found on a British cable at the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, according to "The Times."

Following an investigation, Belgian journalists from De Tijd report that in the last 10 years, over 160 Russian civilian ships have performed 945 suspicious maneuvers. Of these, 749 were recorded within a mile of pipelines in the North Sea. Another 72 suspicious activities occurred in the area of power cables, and the remaining 124 were around telecommunications cables.

According to the Moscow Times, Russian ships "behaved unusually" while passing through key pipelines and cables in the North Sea. They reportedly slowed down deliberately, and, according to Western journalists, this was done for reconnaissance and sabotage purposes.

Russian ships are already suspicious, even if they follow the standard route because every Russian ship, even if it works for a private company, in any case works for the government. Unusual routes do not always raise questions, but it is suspicious if they pass over pipelines and cables, says De Spiegeleer in "The Times."

In April, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands signed an agreement to cooperate on protecting underwater infrastructure from possible Russian attacks.

NATO has become concerned over a possible Russian attack on submarine cables that transmit around 98 percent of global internet data and telephone traffic. Also at risk are pipelines from Norway, which supply natural gas to the continent. Protecting this infrastructure has become a primary defense objective for NATO and European countries since the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage in the fall of 2022.