The government indicated it would propose higher fines and prison sentences for ship owners and operators who deliberately damage underwater cables.
This would help “deter Russia and other hostile states from sabotage against the UK’s critical national infrastructure.”
Liz Lloyd, a senior official responsible for the digital economy, said at a press conference in London that the country needs new legislation covering acts of sabotage against cables carried out by individuals operating in the “grey zone” without clear links to hostile states.
It is reported that Russia, in order to circumvent sanctions, has created a shadow fleet of old ships with unclear ownership that sail under other countries’ flags.
Such ships have already been suspected several times of damaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.
According to L. Lloyd, the new legislation, which will be consulted on this year, will target incidents where it is “difficult to prove a connection with a hostile state and therefore initiate criminal prosecution.”
“For acts of sabotage clearly linked to a hostile state, our laws already provide for life imprisonment in the most serious cases,” L. Lloyd told experts and industry representatives at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
“However, malicious activity beneath the ocean surface does not always manifest so clearly,” she said.
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Since 2023, a series of incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea involving damage to underwater cables and power lines.
Military experts and European leaders say Russia has intensified its “hybrid war” in this strategic region, which is now completely surrounded by NATO members except for Russia.
British Defence Secretary John Healey said last month that the country’s armed forces tracked and deterred three Russian submarines conducting a suspected month-long “covert operation” in UK waters in the North Atlantic, near vital underwater cables and pipelines.
The government indicated that the new legislation will also establish new obligations for underwater cable operators to ensure their security.
According to L. Lloyd, this is part of planning “based on reasonable worst-case scenarios.”
She said the government is not relaxing, although “as far as we know, no malicious cable damage has been recorded in UK waters.”
The UK is connected to the rest of the world by about 64 main underwater telecommunications cables.
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