Dutch government beefs up security around offshore assets amid growing Russian threat

The Netherlands has revealed plans to temporarily enlist private company personnel and equipment to bolster the security of offshore assets in its section of the North Sea.

The country’s Defence Ministry confirmed media reports earlier in the week and stated that the decision follows last year’s reports from the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service agency (MIVD – Militaire Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst) that their North Sea infrastructure, such as gas pipelines and wind farms are a target for Russian sabotage activities.

In April this year, MIVD claimed Russia may also seek to sabotage the numerous data hubs which exist in the North Sea.

“This measure is intended to bridge the gap until two new multifunctional support vessels can be deployed into the navy, expected in 2026,” a ministry spokesperson stated. The ministry did not specify which security companies will be hired for the job.

This confirmation from the Dutch government comes only days after Yi Peng 3, a 23-year-old panamax bulk carrier owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, was suspected of severing two data cables in the Baltic Sea.

The ship departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga heading to Port Said in Egypt over the weekend. It passed over the Swedish-Lithuanian and Finnish-German fibre-optic cables around the time each was cut on Sunday and Monday. The vessel is idle in Danish waters and is being observed by a Danish military vessel.

That is a similar case to the one in October last year when a communication cable between Sweden and Estonia and a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia suffered damage caused by the Chinese-controlled NewNew Polar Bear containership.