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NordStream leaks: Risks and concerns for our subsea pipelines and cables

By Tom Walters (Partner) and Johanna Ohlman (Associate), HFW LLP

The alleged sabotage and attacks on the NordStream pipelines have highlighted the importance of the UK and Europe’s extensive infrastructure network of pipelines and cables, as well as exposed several risks and legal issues. The August 2022 UK Government report titled ‘National Strategy for Maritime Security’ was prescient to the events in the Baltic, as it highlighted the UK’s vulnerability as a result of its dependency on maritime trade. The report recognises the need to protect not just ports and shipping routes but also the subsea infrastructure to safeguard both goods and crucial data traffic.

Where a cable or pipeline is insured, marine insurers will need to assess the terms of cover, which may include exclusions of cover for ‘warlike’ or ‘malicious’ acts. Although accidental damage to subsea infrastructure remains more prevalent than deliberate acts, it will be important to be able to investigate and analyse events to identify and determine any coverage issues. This might mean assessing what steps a pipeline or cable owner could or should take to safeguard its infrastructure. Consequential issues that can have implications for marine insurance also include the powers of other nation-states where a cable or pipeline passes through their maritime boundaries (such as the need to obtain their consent for carrying out repairs) and where the responsibility will fall for clean-up costs if a damaged pipeline leaks hydrocarbons.

As illustrated by recent events, the threat to the UK’s and Europe’s subsea infrastructure is a real one. The UK Royal Navy has committed its frigate ‘SOMERSET’ to join a Joint Expeditionary Force, which is planning to deploy in the North Atlantic. This is to ensure international cooperation and secure critical marine infrastructure, including thousands of kilometres of underwater pipelines in the North Sea. Further, the Royal Navy has commissioned two specialist multi-role ocean survey vessels to patrol and protect underwater infrastructure. The question is whether these efforts will be enough and whether there may be room for the private sector to assist and complement the steps taken by the national government, including through use of autonomous vessels.

For the full article, please click here: HFW | NordStream leaks: are our arteries safe?

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