Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, in order to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia's defence minister said on Wednesday following a spate of breaches.

Nato countries have stepped up patrols to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, which is bordered by eight countries, and other waters. A Royal Navy submarine was ordered to surface last November close to a suspected Russian spy ship which was loitering over undersea infrastructure in UK waters.

NATO is ratcheting up its guard against suspected attempts to sabotage underwater energy and data cables and pipelines that crisscross the Baltic Sea.

Sweden is investigating damage to a data cable linked to Latvia, the latest breach in the Baltic Sea region where European authorities are on high alert.

Sweden has opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated “sabotage” and ordered the detention of a vessel in the Baltic Sea suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connect

The undersea cable is based in the Baltic Sea, and may have been deliberately damaged on Sunday, according to officials in Sweden.

By Johan Ahlander and Anna Ringstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter,

Several undersea cables running under the surface of the Baltic Sea have been damaged in suspected sabotage incidents in recent months.

Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable running under the Baltic Sea to Latvia. The Vezhen - a Maltese-flagged ship - is now anchored outside the Swedish port of Karlskrona.