FCC

Estonia Urges Maritime Law Changes to Protect Undersea Infrastructure

2024-12-30

Estonia is calling for an update to centuries-old maritime law to address the growing issue of damage to undersea infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines. The country’s justice minister, Liisa Pakosta, told Reuters that the current maritime law, which deals with issues like piracy and unauthorized broadcasting, fails to cover cases of harm to underwater infrastructure.

The call for change comes after the damage of power cables and internet lines between Estonia and Finland, allegedly caused by a ship carrying Russian oil. Finnish authorities seized the vessel on suspicion of its involvement in the outage. In response, Estonia's navy is now protecting a parallel power line.

Estonia plans to apply to the International Maritime Organization by February to update the law, aiming to clarify how nations should handle underwater damage. Pakosta believes this would help reduce international disputes over such incidents.