Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month,

Estonian naval ships are taking part in stepped-up patrols in the Baltic Sea by NATO countries after undersea power and communications cables have been damaged in recent months.

Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month,

"Had it continued for another 12 minutes, the carnage would have been much worse than the four basic cables that were there," Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.