Baltic Sea Security: Shadow Fleet in Shallow Waters

From Kattegat to Kronstadt, the Baltic Sea is an essential trade corridor for the littoral countries, with critical seabed infrastructure. Last year was tumultuous for the region: several key pieces of infrastructure were damaged, investigations opened and closed, vessels arrested and released. Finally, in January 2025, NATO launched Baltic Sentry to enhance maritime security. While none of the incidents have been attributed to criminal activity or state-sponsored sabotage, commercial ships travelling to or from Russian ports in the Baltic Sea have been suspected of cutting data and electricity cables as well as damaging a gas pipeline. How to hold perpetrators responsible? Can we provide adequate infrastructure protection in the long term? With no accountability, can one expect attacks to increase?