Finland Detains Russia-Linked Tanker Eagle S over Suspected Sabotage of Undersea Cables

Dec 26, 2024, 07:50 PM

Finnish authorities have detained the Eagle S, a Russia-linked oil tanker suspected of damaging an undersea power cable and four internet cables in the Baltic Sea connecting Finland and Estonia. The Eagle S, operating under the Cook Islands flag and carrying Russian oil, was boarded and seized by Finnish police and border guards. The incident occurred on December 25, when the EstLink 2 undersea power cable suffered an outage, reducing its capacity from 1,016 MW to 358 MW at 10:26 GMT. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced that an investigation is underway, stating that "sabotage cannot be ruled out," and authorities are considering the possibility of aggravated sabotage. Finnish police released photos of the Eagle S and are investigating whether the vessel's anchor may have caused the damage. The ship is suspected to be part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," which threatens security and the environment while funding Russia’s war budget. The European Union is reportedly considering imposing further sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet in response to the incident. Estonian authorities have also expressed concern, with Estonia's Defense Forces dispatching a naval operation to protect the remaining undersea cables. The incident has heightened tensions in the region, with NATO and EU officials monitoring the situation closely.