Speech by Minister of Justice and Security van Weel at the Pre-NAVO-seminar Seabed Security

Speech | 27-03-2025

Hello everyone,

In his novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne wrote about a high-tech submarine. The year was 1870 – before such a thing had even been invented. The famous science fiction author was known for his visionary thinking and his broad perspective. And this afternoon, that’s what I ask of you. In this time of geopolitical shifts and threats, it’s crucial to look ahead and see the big picture.

What was science fiction yesterday has become our reality today.

My speech is this seminar’s final act. The idea is that I join up all the different strands. This ties in closely with my message to you. Because all the pieces of the puzzle need to fit together to complete the picture and tell the whole story. So this is my message: ask yourself what you can do to strengthen this broad approach. How you can contribute to the resilience of our critical subsea infrastructure. And that, of course, is part of a bigger story about defending our security.

I’d like to briefly step back in time, to my previous job. I was an Assistant Secretary-General at NATO when Nord Streams 1 and 2 were blown up in September 2022. This demanded action – there was no time to lose. Less than a week later, I sat down with the CEOs of pipeline construction companies. I learned that many kinds of risks were factored in when the pipeline was built. But sabotage wasn’t one of them. Nobody had anticipated that.

A collective blind spot, in other words. Even though we could have thought of it. We knew – had known for years – that the Russians were building ships capable of this kind of sabotage. So the Nord Stream attack shouldn’t have come as such a surprise.

Another example of our collective naïveté: the Baltic-connector pipeline between Finland and Estonia, which was damaged in 2023. Possibly by a Chinese-owned ship dragging its anchor. It may have been deliberate. And it may have been preventable.

After that incident, it became clear that pipelines in shipping lanes are not normally protected by a layer of sand and rocks. Protection that is in place in less busy areas, to prevent accidental damage by a ship’s anchor. Clearly, we were naïve to think that no ship would ever drop anchor in a shipping lane. Completely overlooking the possibility of parties with malicious intent.

But now we’ve woken up to reality. Our eyes are open. Since Nord Stream, a great deal has been set in motion. One example of that is this seminar, taking place in the run-up to the NATO Summit in the Netherlands. There’s a lot going on right now, and the seabed is a hotspot. We’re aware that the Russians are mapping our vulnerable critical maritime infrastructure. And that their interest is not benign. So we will need to do everything we can to prevent disruption and sabotage.

I’d like to briefly sketch what the Netherlands is doing to protect infrastructure in the North Sea. More than 5,500 kilometres of cables and 3,700 kilometres of pipelines criss-cross the seabed. And then there are the oil and gas rigs – over 150 of them. And the offshore wind farms – some already operational and others yet to be built.

An incident in the North Sea could paralyse the Netherlands. Including the Port of Rotterdam, a gateway to Europe – and crucial for NATO, too. In other words, the fall-out could be serious for the rest of Europe too.

This issue concerns security, energy, the internet, telecoms, the economy and green growth, not to mention our relations with other countries.

All these different aspects need to be combined into a single, cogent approach. That’s why, since 2023, six Dutch ministries have been working together to protect North Sea infrastructure. The entire Dutch government is working hard to improve the detection and analysis of potential threats. We’re working to increase the resilience of our infrastructure so we can reduce the risks. And at the same time, we’re also working on our readiness to deal with any future incidents.

In the Netherlands, we’re doing this in close cooperation with the private sector. Because the government can’t do it alone. It’s up to companies to manage the risks, and to repair broken cables, for instance. Nord Stream, which I mentioned earlier, underscores how vital it is for companies to be involved right from the start.

When offshore wind farms, subsea cables and gas pipelines are built, security and protection of infrastructure at sea should be factored in from the start.

Strong partnerships promote information sharing and best practices. That’s why the Netherlands seeks to make public-private cooperation a standard element of our policy.

Let me repeat: it’s up to each and every one of us. We need each other to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. That’s why the Netherlands is putting its approach, which I just set out, high on the international agenda. With our North Sea neighbours, within the EU and certainly also within NATO.

The Netherlands’ actions in this area are in line with the EU’s ambition to strengthen the security and resilience of submarine cables, and to support member states’ regional surveillance plans.

NATO’s involvement is essential, too, particularly in protecting infrastructure outside territorial waters. Because coastal states have only limited jurisdiction there.

The Netherlands is keen to take the lead within NATO on the protection of maritime infrastructure. But this is something we all need to do together. So we’re supporting our allies and helping to streamline EU and NATO initiatives.

In summary,

We have the expertise. And we’re building up capacity. It’s now time for us to take the next step: to fine-tune everything we can do and everything we’ve created. My message, to NATO and the EU, to member states and to businesses, is this: don’t focus only on your own piece of the puzzle. Think about how it fits into the bigger whole. Let’s solve that puzzle together. Let’s think ahead and think big. We need broadly supported solutions to achieve security at sea, to organise deterrence effectively, and to address all the related legal and administrative issues.

Jules Vernes’ Captain Nemo preferred to stay under water, inside his fantastic submarine. He avoided the rest of the world, and that was his undoing.

We won’t make that mistake. It’s time for us to step up and take action. It’s time to join together to protect our maritime infrastructure and our way of life.

Thank you.