Better preparedness after previous cable breaks: “Reacts faster, harder and more clearly”
The break on the large Eastlink 2 electricity cable between Finland and Estonia was discovered at lunchtime on Christmas Day. The vessel Eagle S, flagged in the Cook Islands, was soon suspected of the sabotage and on Christmas Eve the vessel was escorted by the Finnish Coast Guard to a location southwest of Helsinki.
– It is quite obvious which actor is ultimately behind it and it is not the Cook Islands if I say so, says security policy expert Patrik Oksanen.
Finnish police and coast guard were able to board the ship on Boxing Day and begin an investigation into the incident. The quick Finnish action was praised, among others, by the EU’s head of foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas.
“The authorities are more on their toes”
Patrik Oksanen believes that the newfound power to act is a logical consequence of the increasing wave of Russian sabotage in the past year. The cable break on Eastlink 2 is the third more extensive anchor pulling since last October.
– We see that Finnish authorities can react even faster, which means that this ship is stopped and is in Finnish waters and has been boarded by Finnish police, says Patrik Oksanen.
– The authorities are more on their toes – there is a faster alarm function and faster decision-making which means that you deal with this faster and have the opportunity to gather evidence, he adds.
Will not be allowed to leave Finland
In peacetime, it is not allowed to stop ships in international waters, but in the case of the Eagle S, Finnish jurisdiction applies because the ship was in Finnish waters.
– The Finnish legal process will take its course. Finnish authorities will not allow the ship and its crew to leave Finland before things are settled, says Patrik Oksanen.
If the ship is found guilty of the sabotage, he expects consequences.
– Sabotage is not a day fine offense directly.
“Reacts faster, harder and more clearly”
The EU has threatened to extend sanctions against Russian vessels outside the shadow fleet as a result of the incident. NATO chief Mark Rutte has expressed on X that NATO is at the disposal of Estonia and Finland.
“We are following Estonia’s and Finland’s investigations and we are ready to provide additional support,” Rutte writes on the platform.
Getting rid of the shadow fleet is high on the leaders’ priority list and Patrik Oksanen agrees that the fleet is a noticeable problem.
– With the fleet, Russia wants to achieve two different types of effects. One effect is that we will become afraid and find it difficult. The second is to cause us an economic damage that is asymmetrical, with a small effort there are big economic effects, he explains.
Sweden and the other Baltic Sea countries need to renew the toolbox against this kind of hybrid warfare, he believes. At the same time, authorities in the area seem to be already on their way.
– If authorities around the Baltic Sea had reacted as quickly in October 2023 (ed. note. first cable break) as now with Eagle S, then perhaps the other cable laying would not have happened.
– In any case, we see a development in that we react faster, harder and more clearly, he adds.