EU eyes increasing monitoring of critical maritime infrastructure

The EU is considering joint maritime patrols and naval exercises to combat Russian spy ships and protect critical marine infrastructure, Report informs referring to The Financial Times.

An updated maritime strategy to be published on March 10 includes an action plan calling for an annual joint EU naval exercise and an increase in military and coastguard patrols with better coordination between member states.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, environment and oceans commissioner, said the strategy also advocated increased satellite monitoring and intelligence sharing. “There is definitely a need for further capacity and capabilities building among member states,” he said.

The commissioner said the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline showed the need for increased vigilance of European maritime activity in Europe. Western intelligence officials are divided over whether Russian agents or a group sympathetic to Ukraine were responsible for the attack on the subsea gas pipeline, which took place in Danish waters last September. Denmark, Sweden and Germany are still investigating the incident.

“After what happened with Nord Stream, [we need] increased monitoring and protecting [of] critical maritime infrastructure and ships from physical and cyber threats,” Sinkevičius told the Financial Times.

Sinkevičius warned that floating gas storage and regasification units (FSRUs) were possible targets.

The terminals, vital to Europe’s plans to ending its dependency on Russian gas by tapping the global market for seaborne LNG imports, were “a good example” of vulnerable structures that Moscow could try to damage. Several countries, including Germany and Italy, have rented offshore FSRUs.

“You cannot exclude anything,” he said. “Of course, we have to be prepared. On February 24 2022 the world changed [with Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine]. What also changed was our security situation.”