Seized Russian Tanker Had Spy Equipment On Board

28 December, 2024 The Finnish patrol ship OPV Turva and the detained tanker of the Russian shadow fleet. Photo credits: Finnish Border Guard The Russian tanker Eagle S (IMO: 9329760) that was boarded by Finnish law enforcement officers had spy equipment on board.

This was reported by Lloyd's List. There was also a person on board the civilian vessel who was not a member of the tanker's crew. According to the source, the Russian tanker suspected of damaging an underwater electrical cable on December 25, 2024, was equipped with special transmitter and receiver devices.

These devices were used to monitor maritime activities, which raises serious concerns about their purpose.

Eagle S oil tanker. Illustrative photo.

The high-tech equipment on board was atypical for a merchant ship. As a result, the tanker's electricity consumption from the ship's generator increased significantly.

This, in turn, led to a shutdown of the ship's power system. The surveillance and recording equipment was connected to the 20-year-old tanker's systems via "huge portable suitcases" along with "many laptops" that had keyboards for Turkish and Russian. According to the sources, the equipment was stored on the navigation bridge, which is the most elevated place on the ship.

While crossing the English Channel, the crew of the Eagle S tanker dropped "sensor-type devices" into the sea. Sources indicated that, to their knowledge, the equipment had never returned to the ship after it had been unloaded for analysis. However, other devices were placed on another related tanker, the Swiftsea Rider.

The publication received this information from a source that provided the vessel with commercial maritime services seven months ago. Lloyd's List has at least 60 confidential documents about the Eagle S, including an inspection report that describes many of the safety deficiencies found during an inspection of the tanker in June this year while it was docked in Danish waters. These and other documents relating to the tankers in the Russian shadow fleet were verified as genuine at the time.

As a reminder, the Russian tanker, which was transporting oil from Russia to Egypt, is suspected of deliberately cutting off communications between two countries, as it was passing close to them at the time of the incident.

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

During the inspection, it was found that one of the anchors had been broken, and it appears that it may have been used to cause the damage.

The ship is currently in Finnish waters under the control of the local authorities.