Estonia reported on authorizing the military to respond forcefully to threats at sea
Estonia will authorize its military to respond with force in case of threats in its maritime exclusive economic zone. This was reported by local newspaper Postimees on January 16, citing Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.
"In order to respond quickly and adequately to the situation, we are amending the legislation. In case of a threat, Estonia can react on its entire maritime territory, including the exclusive economic zone," the newspaper quoted Pevkur as saying.
He added that in case of a threat, first of all, communication will be established with the captain of the approaching ship, who will be asked to change course and offered to dock. But if there is a need to use force, the head of the Estonian Defense Ministry will have to give permission, RIA Novosti reported.
Earlier, on January 14, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the Baltic Sentry mission. He noted that it will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft. According to him, this will contribute to increased vigilance in the Baltic Sea. On January 15, it became known that as part of the mission, two NATO ships arrived in the Gulf of Finland for patrolling.
Between Estonia and Finland on December 25, there was an emergency disconnection of the EstLink 2 DC cable. The Estonian electricity and gas supply network operator Elering said that the cause of the incident was unknown, but the reliability of the country's power supply was ensured, and reserve capacities were being used to compensate for the lack of electricity.
Later, Finnish police stopped the Kukapo Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S on suspicion of breaking a cable in the Baltic. As a precaution against disrupting the investigation, the Finnish police banned seven members of the tanker's crew from leaving the country, followed by the eighth.