New mystery in the Baltic Sea. Finland has opened an investigation for “sabotage” into the role of an oil tanker from Russia, suspected of being at the origin of the breakdown of the EstLink 2 submarine electric cable linking the country to Estonia which occurred on Christmas Day, Wednesday December 25, around noon. An investigation into the incident was launched immediately and the disturbance was located on the cable on Thursday by the Finnish (Fingrid) and Estonian (Elering) operators. However, the Finns’ electricity supply was not affected.
Suspicion quickly focused on a boat sailing in the region. The tanker Eagle S, flying the flag of the Cook Islands and suspected of being part of a Russian “ghost fleet”, according to Finnish police, was boarded on Thursday. The ship was escorted by a Finnish patrol boat off the coast of Porkkala, about 30 km from the country’s capital Helsinki. According to the director general of Finnish customs, Sami Rakshit, this boat was transporting “unleaded gasoline loaded in a Russian port”.
The tanker’s anchor in question?
Departing from St. Petersburg, Eagle S was en route to Port Said, Egypt, when Finnish authorities approached it. “We have already (…) spoken to the crew and collected evidence,” announced Robin Lardot, of the National Bureau of Investigation. The official reported that an investigation into “aggravated sabotage” had been opened by the police. The Finnish public authorities suspect an anchor from this ship of being the cause of the disruption of the EstLink 2 cable.
“Our patrol boat went to the area and was able to visually see that the anchors of this cargo ship were not present. So there was a very clear reason to suspect that something strange was happening,” he said. explained Markku Hassinen of the border guards at a press conference. A similar hypothesis was formulated in November 2023, after damage caused to an underwater gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. According to the Finnish police investigation at the time, the anchor of the Hong Kong-flagged container ship NewNew Polar Bear had caused the damage.
A “very serious” disruption
This new disruption on EstLink 2 is “very serious”, declared Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo during a press conference on Thursday December 26. “This is why the decisive and determined action taken today and yesterday by our authorities against this ship in our territorial waters sends a strong message to other ships: we will intervene,” he insisted, without specifically incriminating Russia at this stage. The two countries have not yet discussed this matter.
The Baltic Sea has been the scene, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, of several similar incidents. These actions, targeting in particular energy and communication infrastructures, are part, according to experts and politicians, in the context of the “hybrid war” between Russia and Western countries, in this vast area bordered by several NATO members. and where Moscow also has entry points.