Finland Detains Russian Shadow Fleet Oil Tanker Suspected of Damaging Undersea Cables to Estonia and Germany
Finland has detained the Russian oil tanker Eagle S on suspicion of damaging the Estlink 2 submarine cable between Finland and Estonia, as well as four internet lines, yle reports. Three data cables run from Finland to Estonia and one from Finland to Germany.
Four of the communication cables coming from Finland have failures - two of Elisa's cables are completely cut. According to Traficom's CEO, the cables are strong and usually require external force to damage them.
The Finnish Border Guard patrol vessel Turva escorted the tanker from Porkkala in the early evening on Wednesday, Christmas Day. The tanker is currently in the possession of the Finnish authorities near Porkkalanniemi, about 15 kilometres from the mainland. The Cook Islands-registered vessel was boarded by the Finnish Coast Guard, which took command and directed the vessel into Finnish waters. Police on board are conducting a pre-trial investigation.
Finnish law enforcement authorities suspect that the Cook Islands-registered tanker Eagle S damaged the Estlink 2 electric cable between Finland and Estonia with its anchor.
When the police and border guards stopped the tanker, its anchor did not rise to the surface.
According to customs, the ship belongs to Russia's shadow fleet and is also involved in sanctions circumvention.
The Eagle S, which departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga or Laukaansuu, was heading for Egypt. It was the first time it had taken a direct route in the Baltic Sea.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, it made a turn, according to the Marine Traffic website.
The tanker made the turn at around 13:50 Finnish time and travelled about half a kilometre back along its route. Then, at around 14:20, the ship returned to its old route.
The capsize occurred about an hour and a half after the ship crossed the Estlink 2 cable. The cause of the rotation is still unknown.
According to the network company Fingrid, the connection to the Estlink 2 cable was interrupted on Christmas Day at 12:26 a.m. Finnish time.
On 25 December, Finnish national grid operator Fingrid announced that the Estlink 2 submarine power cable connecting Finland and Estonia had been damaged.
Earlier, on 18 November, the Finnish authorities reported damage to a submarine telecommunications cable that runs across the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany. At the same time, another cable between Lithuania and Sweden was reported to have been broken.
Before that, in early December, two new cable breaks occurred on the internet line between Sweden and Finland. The damage occurred on land in Espoo and Vihti.