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.

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

Nato countries have stepped up patrols to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, which is bordered by eight countries, and other waters. A Royal Navy submarine was ordered to surface last November close to a suspected Russian spy ship which was loitering over undersea infrastructure in UK waters.

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

There has been a sharp rise in damage to undersea cables in the Baltic, with at least 11 incidents reported since October 2023.

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

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.

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.

An undersea data cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on January 26, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea in which critical seabed energy and communications lines are believed to have been severed by ships traveling to or from Russian ports.

This week, the Estonian authorities noted provocative ideas and gestures, potentially leading to a sharp aggravation of the military-political situation in the Baltic Sea.

A critical part of the plan includes replacing state-owned vessels with modern ones, partially upgrading existing ships, and enhancing mine-clearance capabilities in both maritime and inland waters. Estonia is leading efforts to secure funding for the 589-million-euro maritime recovery plan.