The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia reported that in recent days there have been failures on four underwater cables connecting Estonia, and on one cable connecting Hiiumaa Island to the mainland.
In particular, faults were detected on the cable between Estonia and Sweden owned by CITIC (since December 28), on the Telia cable between Läänemaa County and Hiiumaa Island, as well as on the Arelion cable between Hiiumaa and Sweden at two locations (since December 30).
Additionally, as of this morning, one Arelion cable and one Elisa cable between Estonia and Finland have been damaged.
"In the earlier cases, the likely cause of the faults was stormy weather conditions. The causes of the damage to the two cables between Estonia and Finland that occurred this morning are currently being investigated," the statement said.
In particular, the company Elisa discovered damage to the communication cable between Estonia and Finland in the Estonian exclusive economic zone around 5 a.m.
In this regard, the Finnish Border Guard detained a vessel.
Cable owners are currently planning repair works, during which the exact causes of all faults will also be established.
According to Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta, Estonia's external internet connections have multiple redundancies: in the event of a submarine cable break, other marine cables or land lines passing through Latvia can be used.
