Finnish police said on Tuesday they have recovered a lost anchor from the bottom of the ocean as part of an investigation of suspected sabotage against power and internet cables in the Baltic Sea.

General Mark Rutte says the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea area as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.

Finnish authorities have found and retrieved the anchor of the Eagle S tanker, suspected of damaging cables in the Baltic Sea. Investigators will begin inspecting it on Tuesday. Finnish radio Yle reported that the tanker Eagle S's anchor was located at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland and brought to the surface.

Two undersea telecommunications cables that were damaged in the Baltic Sea on Dec. 25 appeared to have been torn apart by a strong external force, Finland's Elisa said on Monday, adding that they had now been repaired.