The threat of sabotage to critical infrastructure is a real danger, Belgian Navy official warns

Belgian authorities are stepping up efforts to ensure the safety of offshore infrastructure in the North Sea following a series of incidents that raised fears of attacks on underwater internet cables, gas pipelines and wind farms.

Sightings of an undetected Russian ship in both Dutch and Belgian waters last November prompted intelligence officials to question if Moscow was spying on the North Sea's offshore wind farms.

Both countries launched investigations into claims that Russia might have tried to map out the wind farms and other infrastructure elements in a bid to understand how these energy systems work in the North Sea. 

While the ship was escorted away by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before it caused any damage, the incident threw the security of critical infrastructure both above and below the sea into question.

The incident followed the alleged sabotage of Nord Stream 1 and 2 last September when underwater explosions knocked the pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe, via the Baltic Sea, offline.

Another incident in October 2021 also raised safety and security concerns; a vessel containing 25 migrants, stranded in the English Channel, was spotted adrift near the Zeebrugge wind farm off the coast of Belgium. Its wind turbines had to be temporarily stopped during the rescue operation.

While there were no casualties, the incident prompted Belgium's navy, the military, police and wind farm operators to work together on a number of preventative exercises to evade any potential disasters.

Control centres on land call vessels at sea, coordinating the rescue of 'migrants' who are trapped by the wind turbines. 

Personnel are also trained to prevent any attempts by 'smugglers' to seize hostages on offshore platforms.