Norway and Germany sign agreement on NATO undersea infrastructure

Norway and Germany have signed a bilateral proposal to strengthen NATO’s role in protecting critical undersea infrastructure.

At the meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on 17 October, Norway minister of defence Bjørn Arild Gram German defence minister Boris Pistorius signed a statement that had been two years in the making, in the wake of the Nord Stream event in 2022.

NATO Allies have been collaborating since then to ensure their underwater infrastructure was safe from either inexplicable accident or deliberate sabotage. That has included the continued development of NATO’s Centre for Security of Critical Underwater Infrastructure.

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Gram said: “Germany and Norway are determined to take this important work forward. As an Alliance, we have vast maritime areas in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the North and Baltic Seas. They are covered with undersea infrastructure ensuring the safe delivery of energy and communication. So, we need to continue to join forces.”

Minister Pistorius added: “Hybrid attacks against critical underwater infrastructure pose a considerable threat to our economy, our communications, our energy supply. Together, Germany and Norway have made concrete proposals to build on this first initiative to further strengthen NATO’s role in the protection of critical undersea infrastructure as part of our deterrence and defence.”

In addition to the Maritime Centre for Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure, which protects thousands of miles of undersea energy pipelines and cables, and which achieved its Initial Operating Capability in March 2024, the statement from Norway and Germany proposed the creation of five regional critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) hubs, one for each of five maritime areas: the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.

Each of the hubs would be provided by a NATO ally or a group of allies. The hubs would monitor underwater infrastructure and bring in regional expertise to improve situational awareness in the underwater domain. Personnel and capabilities of respective national authorities could be used to detect suspicious activities and deter potential adversaries.

As part of the initial statement, Norway offered to implement a CUI hub for the High North, while Germany expressed its intention to take responsibility for the Baltic Sea.