Finland Boards Tanker Suspected of Rupturing Undersea Cables

Finnish police boarded Thursday an oil tanker suspected of rupturing telecommunications and electricity cables running beneath the Baltic Sea in a Christmas Day incident.

Authorities said they escorted the tanker, the Eagle S, into Finnish waters as part of a criminal investigation into damage Wednesday to the Estlink 2 power transmission cable linking the Finnish electricity grid with Estonia’s. Finnish Border Guard officials reportedly found the ship lacked an anchor.

The rupture has not decreased electricity supply in the region, said Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator Fingrid Oyj. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in a Thursday press conference said grid operators are ready to tap into reserves and activate backup power plants.

The tanker, registered in the Cook Islands and reportedly operated by United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC-FZ, also may have severed four telecom cables. The incident marks the latest in an outbreak of apparent Russian sabotage in the Baltic Sea (see: Breach Roundup: Russia Suspected In Baltic Undersea Cable Disruption).

The Finnish communications regulator identified the cables as connecting Helsinki with Estonia and Germany. The underwater damage could result in slower communications although Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that agency has yet to detect any significant impact.

“Repeated damage to Baltic Sea infrastructure signals a systemic threat, not mere accidents. Estonia will take action to counter this threat, together with Finland and other NATO allies,” said Estonian President Alar Karis on social media.

The European Commission said the Eagle S forms part of a Russian “shadow fleet” of typically aged and uninsured vessels with uncertain ownership transporting embargoed goods. The vessel “threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget,” the commission said. It pledged further measures to crackdown on maritime sanctions busting, which have increased amid Western pressure on Moscow to stop its war of conquest in Ukraine. Director General of Finnish Customs Sami Rakshit told reporters the ship carries 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline loaded in Russian ports.

Citing telemetry from Marine Traffic, Yle reported that the Eagle S slowed significantly at the time the incident occurred.

Estonian national transmission system operator Elering said disruption of the EstLink 2 power cable will not delay a long-planned synchronization with the European grid next year in a move that will disconnect former Soviet states in the Baltic region from the Russian electricity system.