C-Lion1 is a

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...

between

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The cable is owned and operated by the Finnish

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

and IT services company Cinia Oy. It is the first direct communications cable between Finland and

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

; previous connections have been through

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The cable was damaged in November 2024, taking the cable offline between November 18 and November 28. Some officials suspect the damaging was an act of sabotage. The connection was offline again between December 25, 2024 and January 6, 2025 in connection with the 2024 Estlink 2 incident. The cable is long and has eight fiber pairs with a design capacity of 120 Tbit/s and a maximum capacity of 144 Tbit/s.

History

Alcatel Submarine Networks Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is a French company and one of the three world leaders in the manufacture and installation of submarine cables. It was a subsidiary of Alcatel, then Alcatel-Lucent, until it was acquired by the Finnish group No ...

commenced the installation of the cable in October 2015, completing the process in January 2016. The cable entered commercial operation in May 2016. In October 2017, a network switch was installed to the Finnish port city of Hanko.

Faults in 2024–2025

A fault was detected in the cable on 18 November 2024, after which the services provided over the cable went down. According to the Finnish operating company 'Cinia Oy', the cable service was interrupted by a subsea physical force . The fault was discovered off the coast of the Swedish island of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

. German Federal Defense Minister

Boris Pistorius Boris Ludwig Pistorius (; born 14 March 1960) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Defence in the governments of successive Chancellors Olaf Scholz and Fri ...

called the incident an act of sabotage. As of 19 November 2024, the cause of the fault was being investigated. The

Lithuanian Naval Force The Lithuanian Navy (; formally: ''Lithuanian Naval Forces'') is the navy, naval arm of the Military of Lithuania, Lithuanian Armed Forces. Though formally established on 1 August 1935 its roots stretch back as far as naval engagements on the Ba ...

announced increased surveillance of its waters in response to the damage and would discuss further measures with Lithuania's allies. On 29 November 2024, the operator Cinia Oy announced that the cable had been completely repaired. The cable was went offline again on December 25, 2024. The probable cause of the fault is considered to be a cable cut in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

. The damage was repaired on January 6, 2025. Cinia Oy is demanding the seizure of the vessel Eagle S linked with the incident to secure its claims for compensation.

Landings points

C-Lion1 has landing points in: *

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, at Santahamina *

Hanko, Finland Hanko (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Hanko is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Hanko is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Hanko is l ...

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

References

External links

C-Lion1 on submarinecablemap.com
2016 establishments in Finland 2016 establishments in Germany Baltic Sea Infrastructure completed in 2016 Submarine communications cables in the North Atlantic Ocean Finland–Germany relations {{Telecomm-stub

History

Faults in 2024–2025

Landings points

See also

References

External links