Wednesday 5 October 2022 07:21 AM Britain sends warships to North Sea to protect underwater gas and oil pipelines ... trends now

Britain has sent warships to the North Sea to protect underwater gas and oil pipelines and internet cables from Russian sabotage after the Nordstream was blown up in a suspected Kremlin attack.

Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset and survey ship HMS Enterprise have been deployed amid fears that pipelines, rigs and undersea cables that countries including Britain rely upon for energy are at risk of further attacks.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has acted to 'reassure' those working near the pipelines after Western intelligence agencies were blindsided by the pipeline blasts.

A naval source told The Times: 'There are a number of uncertainties associated with that area and the infrastructure. 

'The likelihood of anything happening is remote but people are concerned and what better system to have than a ship that has good radar and good sonar?'

HMS Enterprise uses a sonar and miniature drones to carry out 'oceanographic and hydrographic surveys examining and mapping the seafloor'.

HMS Somerset, meanwhile, is a 'fast, adaptable, versatile frigate' that has previously been deployed to shadow Russian naval destroyers through UK waters.

It comes as Europe's critical infrastructure is now at risk after the Nord Stream gas pipes were blown up in an attack widely thought to have been orchestrated by Russia, senior politicians, defence chiefs and experts have warned.

Norway is also understood to be increasing its security presence around the pipelines following threats to its offshore gas platforms.

That suggests the UK - connected to Norway via two major pipelines which carry a third of this country's gas - is also at risk. 

Britain's largest oil and gas fields, which are dotted with dozens of rigs and criss-crossed by pipes, also sit close to Norwegian waters.