Estonian Minister of Defense, Hanno Pevkur, proposed the idea of a Baltic Sea shipping tax to fund the protection of undersea cables after various incidents over the last 18 months.
The minister told Reuters that shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables.
Pevkur mentioned that countries are considering additional measures to safeguard cables, such as installing sensors to detect anchors scraping the sea floor or building protective casings or barriers around the cables.
Furthermore, he suggested that another approach could involve imposing a tax on vessels passing through the Baltic Sea, which is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia.
“It’s similar to paying a landing fee or airport fee when you fly, which is included in the ticket price” the minister commented.
In the past 18 months, several electricity and telecommunications cables have been damaged in the Baltic, affecting Finland, Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The latest incident occurred in Swedish waters on 26 January, where a Maltese-flagged vessel was detained.
