Finland’s midnight operation – prepared for battle

At 00:28 the Finnish task force arrived at Eagle S by helicopter.

Then they prepared for battle, according to sources Helsingin Sanomat.

– Serious damage can be done with terrorist intent, says prosecutor Jukka Rappe.

On Christmas Day, the Finnish network operator Fingrid announced that it had lost contact with the Estlink 2 electricity cable that runs between Finland and Estonia.

Shortly afterwards, sabotage was suspected and eyes turned to the Cook Islands-flagged vessel Eagle S, which had passed the cable just as the signal disappeared.

The ship, which was on its way to Greece, was then stopped by the Finnish coast guard.

At midnight, Finnish police launched an operation to board the ship.

Two helicopters carrying police officers from the Björngruppen, the Finnish task force, and personnel from the coast guard took off from Helsinki airport and landed on the ship’s deck at 12:28 a.m. Thursday night, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

During the night, the authorities also discussed whether it could be a terrorist crime and when the task force boarded the ship, they were prepared for resistance, the newspaper writes.

– It was an option we considered with the police in the wee hours of the night. Serious damage is something that according to the criminal code can be done with terrorist intent, says prosecutor Jukka Rappe.

– When there have been several cable damages, we thought about the issue of causing serious fear. However, we came to the conclusion that it is more about serious damage.

The police and the coast guard were able to quickly take control of the ship, and on Thursday it was announced at a press conference that a preliminary investigation into serious damage had been initiated.

– All cooperation with the ship’s staff went smoothly, says Border Guard Chief Juha Hietela Iltalehti.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo pointed out the links between the Eagle S and the Russian “shadow fleet” that sails across the seas laden with Russian oil, despite sanctions, and said that NATO had been contacted.

– Our most important task is to find effective means, more means, to stop this shadow fleet, he says.

Police suspect the ship’s anchor caused the damage to the electrical cable and said only the chain was left when it was hoisted up.

Petteri Orpo says that NATO must secure the critical infrastructure to prevent sabotage in the future. But he also praised the efforts of the authorities.

– This is a strong message to the sailors, that we will intervene.