HELSINKI — A significant disruption has occurred due to a failure in a submarine data communications cable that spans the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland to Germany. Finnish authorities announced on Monday that they are currently investigating the situation.

The cable in question, C-Lion1, is operated by Cinia, the Finnish state-controlled provider of data services. The company confirmed the detection of a “fault” affecting the 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) cable that extends from Helsinki, the capital of Finland, to Rostock, a port city in Germany.

Cinia reassured that Finland has secured its international data and telecommunications links by utilizing multiple routes. The impact of this single cable failure will vary depending on how service providers manage the security of their connections.

Commissioned in 2016, the C-Lion1 cable is notably Finland’s sole direct data communications link to central Europe, according to reports from Finnish public broadcaster YLE.

It is also noteworthy that the cable’s path towards Germany is located near the NordStream gas pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany but are currently non-operational. Finnish media has highlighted this proximity as an area of interest during the investigation.

Further updates regarding the cause of the cable’s disruption and its implications for data services are expected as inquiries progress. The situation underscores the critical nature of maintaining reliable telecommunications infrastructure between nations.