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Maritime Jurisdiction and Undersea Security in Europe

Cristina Di Silvio
12 November 2026clock13 Minute Read
The cargo ship Vezhen, anchored outside Karlskrona in January 2025 for examination by Swedish authorities.

Waylaid: The cargo ship Vezhen, anchored outside Karlskrona in January 2025 for examination by Swedish authorities. Image: Associated Press / A;amy Stock

Baltic Sea cable incidents show that protecting Europe’s undersea infrastructure depends as much on evidence, jurisdiction and legal cooperation as on maritime surveillance.

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Cristina Di Silvio

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Footnotes

1.:

European Commission, 'Commission Increases Submarine Cable Security with €347 Million Investment and New Toolbox', press release, 5 February 2026, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-increases-submarine-cable-security-eu347-million-investment-and-new-toolbox, accessed 26 October 2026. For the broader policy context, see European Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'EU Action Plan on Cable Security', Joint Communication JOIN (2025) 9 final, 21 February 2025.

2.:

United Nations, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (adopted 10 December 1982, entered into force 16 November 1994), 1833 UNTS 3, Articles 58, 59, 79, 92, 97 and 113.

3.:

Helsinki Court of Appeal, decision of 27 August 2026, HelHO:2026:9, case R 16/2025/2572, decision no. 1051 2110, https://www.tuomioistuimet.fi/ratkaisut/helho20269/, accessed 26 October 2026.

4.:

Helsinki Court of Appeal registry, email correspondence with the author, 28 October 2026, concerning case R 16/2025/2572 (HelHO:2026:9).

5.:

Supreme Court of Finland, Registry, email correspondence with the author, 4 November 2026 (case R1/2026/2641).

6.:

Mikko T Huttunen, 'Interpreting Treaties in Domestic Courts: (Non-)Incident of Navigation in the Eagle S Judgments', Völkerrechtsblog, 19 October 2026, https://doi.org/10.17176/20261019-142640-0, accessed 26 October 2026.

7.:

Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens haverikommission), 'SHK:s observationer ombord på det kinesiska lastfartyget YI PENG 3', Memorandum, Case No. A-166/24, 15 April 2025, https://shk.se/download/18.ffd11bf19626c638f3623/1744702687838/YP3-PM%202025-04-15%20-%20slutlig.docx.pdf, accessed 26 October 2026.

8.:

Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten), 'Förundersökning om grovt sabotage av kommunikationskabel läggs ned', press release, 13 October 2025, https://www.aklagare.se/for-media/pressmeddelanden/2025/oktober/forundersokning-om-grovt-sabotage-av-kommunikationskabel-laggs-ned/, accessed 26 October 2026.

9.:

European Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'EU Action Plan on Cable Security', Joint Communication JOIN (2025) 9 final, 21 February 2025.

10.:

European Commission, 'Commission Increases Submarine Cable Security with €347 Million Investment and New Toolbox', press release, 5 February 2026, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-increases-submarine-cable-security-eu347-million-investment-and-new-toolbox, accessed 26 October 2026; European Commission, 'Commission Funds First Regional Cable Hubs and Launches €40 Million Call for Cable Repair Capacity', press release, 23 June 2026, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-funds-first-regional-cable-hubs-and-launches-eu40-million-call-cable-repair-capacity, accessed 26 October 2026.

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