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,

NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened concerns about possible Russian activities, the alliance’s leader said.

Finnish police said on Tuesday they had recovered a lost anchor from the seabed as part of an investigation of suspected sabotage against power and internet cables in the Baltic Sea.

NATO announced on Tuesday that it will beef up its patrol of the Baltic Sea in the light of past infrastructure damage to cables on the sea floor.

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.

The incidents contributed to mounting European fears of sabotage, as NATO officials accuse Russia of a growing “destabilization campaign” over their military support for Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow.