Six North Sea countries join forces to increase security of underwater infrastructure
Six North Sea countries, including Belgium, will soon collaborate more closely to improve the security of underwater energy and telecom infrastructure. "The agreement is in its final phase," minister for the North Sea Paul Van Tigchelt told VRT NWS.
With this cooperation agreement, the signing countries - Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the UK and Denmark - agree to share more information and take more efficient measures.
One of the measures they will take is to create a platform where data on suspicious movements at sea can be recorded and shared. Belgium is taking the lead and investing 1 million euros in the new data platform.
Espionage
There have been recent indications that Russian ships have been quietly lingering near that infrastructure in the North Sea, possibly for espionage purposes. Van Tigchelt mentioned, among other things, the Russian ship Admiral Vladimirsky visiting the North Sea. Dutch research also recently showed that Russian research vessels visited the North Sea.
To counteract this threat, security advisors from different countries came together during the North Sea Summit in April last year to discuss better cooperation on energy and telecom infrastructure security. This led to the new cooperation agreement. Its signing is expected shortly.
© BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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