Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, in order to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia's defence minister said on Wednesday following a spate of breaches.

Estonia’s defence minister proposed on Wednesday that shipping companies may have to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables following a series of breaches,

Shipping companies using the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, may face a new fee to help finance the

NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with shores on Baltic waters

The attacks come as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania prepare to cut on February 8 their electricity links to Russia and Belarus.

After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.

TradeWinds reported this week that Bulgarian bulker owner Navibulgar admitted that one of its ships may have cut an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea over the weekend, but dismissed sabotage claims.

Multiple undersea cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in recent months, raising suspicions of sabotage.

Russia has condemned the Western alliance for ramping up its naval presence in the so-called 'NATO lake' after alleged sabotage by Moscow-linked vessels.

Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country's security police said on Monday.

Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, in order to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia's defense minister said on Wednesday following a spate of breaches,