STOCKHOLM – Sweden is fitting machine guns to its civilian coast guard vessels to better counter what it views as an intensifying threat from Russia-linked vessels in the Baltic Sea.
The weapons, of the Ksp 58-type, will better allow coast guard staff to defend themselves at sea, Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said during a visit to the vessel Triton on Sweden’s Baltic Sea island of Gotland.
“We are seeing how the heightened tensions in our surrounding region are being reflected in an increasingly uncertain security situation in the Baltic Sea,” Bohlin said.
“This means that the Swedish coast guard is taking on a partly new role and it also means that it needs ultimately to be able to protect itself, its personnel, and respond to the various types of threats that may arise in the course of its operations.”
Sweden, the newest member of the NATO defence alliance, has stepped up its actions against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of often poorly maintained and patchily insured tankers which are transporting oil and other commodities through the Baltic Sea. It has also called on neighbouring states to match its efforts.
On at least two occasions, Swedish officers have boarded ships they suspected were sailing under false flags.
The machine guns will be fitted on the three biggest coast guard boats, including Triton first, while the weapons will then be successively upgraded on those boats and others until 2030, according to the coast guard. Bohlin said Finland already had similar weapons on its vessels while he believed other neighbouring states had yet to take such steps.
He said: “I’d say Finland is probably ahead of us in this respect, but we’re likely in a solid second place when it comes to implementing this capability.” BLOOMBERG
