Læsø Municipality kept its crisis-management group activated for five days after two Russian tugboats sailed close to the undersea power and data cables linking the island to Frederikshavn.
The vessels, named Sarmat and Ajax, are based in Murmansk, north of the Arctic Circle. DR reports that Sarmat towed a barge across the area where the supply cables run. A cable-laying vessel was also observed in the waters off Læsø.
The alarm was raised after a concerned resident contacted the municipality last week. First one, then two Russian ships were seen circling near the cables between Læsø and Frederikshavn. The municipality then convened its local crisis-management group.
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That group includes the mayor, the municipality’s emergency management chief and the municipal director. Municipal director Kurt Bennetsen said officials feared the island’s electricity and data cables were at risk. According to Bennetsen, the Russian vessels came close to the supply cables.
Bennetsen also said the municipality knows very little about the vessels’ mission. He noted the ships may simply have been sheltering from the wind, without hostile intent. He added that Læsø is a vulnerable community and therefore has to react.
Five days of heightened alert
TV2 Nord reports that the two tugboats triggered Læsø’s crisis preparedness on Friday. The outlet adds that the alert was suspended after five days. Per TV2 Nord, the municipality described the activity around the cables as suspicious.
The same cables supply the island with both fibre broadband and electricity, according to TV2 Nord. Russian vessels are not a rare sight in Kattegat. The combination of a tugboat, a barge and a cable-laying ship still drew particular attention.
Bennetsen said the activation reflected the current geopolitical situation facing Denmark. He pointed to the creation of a new ministry for crisis preparedness and societal security. Episodes of this kind require municipalities to raise their own level of preparedness, he said.
He described the process as calm rather than dramatic. As stated by Bennetsen, the group gathered quietly to coordinate and gain an overview of available information. He said the municipality intends to stay calm but attentive.
On Tuesday night, the two Russian ships sailed on toward the northwest. They were subsequently observed north of Skagen. The heightened alert in Læsø was then stood down.
Læsø lies in the northern Kattegat and is connected to the mainland at Frederikshavn. The island depends on the seabed connections for both power and data traffic. Concerns about the security of undersea cables have been raised elsewhere in the Danish realm.
