Baltic Sea: Finland stops old Russian tanker on suspicion of sabotage

After the failure of a submarine power cable to Estonia, the Finnish authorities have taken control of an oil tanker coming from Russia in the Baltic Sea. The Cook Island-registered ship Eagle S was boarded by the Finnish Coast Guard on Thursday, a coast guard official said at a news conference. She took command and steered the ship into Finnish waters. “We are investigating serious sabotage,” said Robin Lardot, who is leading the multi-agency investigation. “According to our findings, an anchor on the ship caused the damage.”

Finnish customs said it had confiscated the ship’s cargo. It is assumed that the “Eagle S” belongs to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers. They are trying to circumvent the sanctions against the sale of Russian oil.

The failure of an undersea power cable and three internet lines between Finland and Estonia is also a concern for politicians in both countries. Both governments wanted to hold extraordinary meetings on Thursday, they said in separate statements. They want to get an idea of ​​the situation. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal is in close contact with colleagues in the Nordic and Baltic regions,
as he wrote on X.

The EU has meanwhile threatened to impose sanctions on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. “We will propose further measures, including sanctions, aimed at this fleet,” the European Commission and new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said jointly on Thursday. “The suspicious ship is part of the Russian shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment while financing Russia’s war budget,” Kallas and the commission emphasized.

The countries bordering the Baltic Sea are on high alert for possible acts of sabotage after power cables, telecommunications connections and gas pipelines have failed several times since 2022. Many experts consider Russia to be a possible mastermind. The latest incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon and led to the failure of the 658 megawatt “Estlink 2” power connection. This means that only the 358 megawatt Estlink 1 network is still in operation between the two countries, as the operator Fingrid announced. The repair of the 170 kilometer long Estlink 2 connection line will take months. The outage could lead to a tense power supply situation in winter, emphasized Fingrid.

Swedish police are currently investigating two severed telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea. In 2022, three of the four Nord Stream pipelines that deliver Russian natural gas to Germany were destroyed by explosions at a depth of around 80 meters. According to investigations, it was sabotage.

While Russia was initially suspected of being the author, later many traces pointed to Ukraine. Ship anchors can also cause damage to submarine cables. Intentional intent is difficult to prove in such cases. Finnish police are also currently dealing with damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia as well as several telecommunications cables. In these cases, the police assume that a ship with its anchor could have caused the damage.