VULNERABILITY OF UNDERSEA CABLES AND PIPELINES

On 6th April 2025 the Sunday Times carried an extensive report by Harry Yorke in about Russia targeting cables and pipelines in the seas around Britain. It reported that the Russian spy ship Yantar, a frequent visitor to British waters, carries unmanned vehicles and mini submarines capable of reaching depths of 6,000m.

The vehicles can not only map the undersea cables but they also have the capability of cutting cables and undersea pipelines or placing explosives near them. Sources within the Royal Navy told the Sunday Times that the sabotage of the Nordstrom gas pipeline had all the hallmarks of a Kremlin ‘grey zone’ operation, A co-ordinated attack of that type could lead to a failure of the National Grid.