Finland boarded a tanker linked to Russia

26 December, 2024 Eagle S oil tanker. Illustrative photo. Finland has boarded and detained the Eagle S tanker, suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 submarine power cable connecting the country to Estonia.

The Financial Times reported on this. The Finnish Border Guard intercepted Eagle S oil tanker after the Estlink 2 submarine electric cable was damaged in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday. The ship is currently in Finnish waters under police control.

The vessel, which was transporting oil from Russia to Egypt, is suspected of deliberately cutting communications between the two countries, as it was passing close to them at the time of the incident. One of the anchors on the ship was severed, and it looks like it could have been damaged. "There are reasons to suspect that this vessel, registered in the Cook Islands, damaged the Estlink power grid cable with its anchor.

We also suspect that other cables have been damaged," Ilkka Koskimaki, Director General of the Finnish Police, stated. In addition to the power line, four communication cables are also likely to have been damaged.

Movement of the Eagle S ship near the ESTLINK2 cable at the time of the cable damage marked on the map.

Photo credits: Aurora Ferm / Yle, MapCreator, OpenStreetMap, Marinetraffic

According to the Marinetraffic monitoring service, which monitors the movement of ships using transponder signals, the Eagle S tanker was headed for Egypt and clearly slowed down as it passed the area above the cable. It is believed to be a member of Russia's shadow fleet, a group of old and often poorly maintained ships that Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions on oil exports.

Sabotage in the Baltic Sea

Last month, the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was spotted in a similar incident when it passed through a data cable between Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Lithuania around the time they were severed. This cable is the only submarine communication cable running directly to Central Europe.

The Royal Danish Navy ship later detained the vessel and its crew for questioning and to learn more about their course and actions in the vicinity of the telecommunications cables. It was reported that the ship's captain was a Russian, Alexander Stechentsev. Later, The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources associated with the investigation, reported that it was Russian intelligence that ordered the ship's captain to damage the cables with an anchor.

Project 20380 corvette Merkury, St.

Petersburg, 2023.

Photo credits: Russian Ministry of Defense

According to the newspaper, the Russian corvette Mercury specially arrived in the Kattegat area and conducted reconnaissance for the Yi Peng 3, after which it transmitted classified information to the headquarters in Kaliningrad.

The WSJ article notes that NATO has faced difficulties in responding to the events in the Baltic Sea, with authorities avoiding direct accusations of Russia to prevent panic.