Cable damage in the Baltic Sea: photos of the ship’s hull published

After the Estlink 2 submarine power cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea, police in Finland have released photos of the hull of a suspicious oil tanker. The underwater photos show damage to the hull of the “Eagle S”, which police say was caused by the anchor chain. The marks could be further evidence that the damage to the power cable was caused by the ship’s anchor. Corresponding drag marks were discovered on the seabed.

The “Eagle S” is currently anchored east of Helsinki. On Christmas Day, the power cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged. The Finnish authorities suspect sabotage and detained the Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker, which, according to the EU, belongs to Russia’s shadow fleet.

According to police, the investigation is ongoing. The crew was also questioned on Monday and cooperated, it was said. The aim is to get a comprehensive picture of what happened on board. The suspicion is that there was serious damage to property and serious disruption to the communications infrastructure, according to the police statement.

The investigators hope to find further clues by evaluating devices with data on the ship’s course that were confiscated. However, the underwater investigations were interrupted due to difficult weather conditions.

The newspaper Helsingin Sanomat had previously reported that the tanker’s operating company hired a Finnish lawyer to apply for the ship’s release in court.

The Finnish safety authority announced that it would subject the ship to a detailed inspection for possible defects. In case of doubt, the tanker could be held until any deficiencies are corrected, reported the Finnish news agency STT, citing the Traficom authority.