Britain, Ireland working together at sea 'important'

Protecting undersea cables is a critical area of cooperation between Britain and Ireland, emphasized British Ambassador to Ireland Kara Owen during a recent visit of a British naval vessel to Dublin. The collaboration is deemed "hugely important" for safeguarding the vital infrastructure that carries approximately 99% of Europe's data.

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Something like 99% of all data for Europe goes through cables in our waters. It's really important that for our economy that we protect those against people or countries that would want to do them harm.

Ambassador Owen highlighted that these cables are essential for the economy, and joint efforts are necessary to protect them from potential harm by individuals or nations. The focus extends beyond cyber threats to include capability development and cooperation in the air domain. This partnership underscores the shared strategic maritime space between the two nations.

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So, it's really important that we're collaborating in that area. There's a focus on cyber, there's a focus on capability development, as well as what we do in the air domain as well.

The visit of HMS Somerset, an anti-submarine warfare vessel, to Dublin Port coincided with a maritime exercise involving the Irish navy's LE James Joyce. The crew of HMS Somerset has been actively monitoring vessels from the Russian shadow fleet since March, traveling from the Arctic Circle to the Azores. Their operations include tracking submarines for the defense of the UK's nuclear deterrent and monitoring activities related to critical national infrastructure like pipelines and undersea cables.

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We always maintain a working plot of where the submarines are that operate in the North Atlantic. There's several reasons for that, and the primary one is defence of our nuclear deterrent.

Matt Millyard, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset, noted that maritime security is a multinational endeavor requiring close collaboration with neighbors and partners. He stated that the visit aims to strengthen ties between the Royal Navy and the Irish Navy, as well as broader UK-Ireland defense cooperation in the maritime domain. Both economies and societies depend heavily on undersea infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and internet cables, necessitating joint defense efforts.

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The other is the understanding of who is where and what they're doing, particularly in defence of critical national infrastructure, such as pipelines or undersea cables.