Earlier on Thursday, Finnish authorities announced at a press conference that they had boarded the ship Eagle S and brought it to Finnish waters to investigate the cable break of the Estlink 2 electricity cable between Finland and Estonia.
As part of the effort reports Helsingin Sanomat that two helicopters took off early on Boxing Day from Helsinki-Vantaa airport, one from the Finnish Defense Forces and one from the border guard, headed for the ship.
On board the helicopters were both police and coast guard, and according to sources familiar with the newspaper, they were armed and prepared for resistance. There was no resistance, however, and the authorities quickly took control of the ship, according to the paper.
“Russian Shadow Fleet”
At the press conference earlier on Thursday, it was stated that the crew had been ordered to show the ship’s anchor. During the visual inspection, details were discovered that raised suspicions that an anchor may have damaged the cables.
According to Finnish customs, they have also seized the cargo on the Eagle S and suspect that the vessel is part of the so-called “Russian shadow fleet” – vessels that are over 15 years old and have no known owners, with the aim of evading sanctions.
EPN reported earlier on Thursday that the oil tanker Eagle S was of interest in the investigation of the cable break on Estlink 2. On the Marine Traffic site, you can see how the vessel slowed down while the power supply was cut while in the area.
Considered investigating it as a terrorist crime
During the night of Thursday, the question of whether the damage to the electric cable should be investigated as a terrorist crime was also discussed.
– It was an option that we considered with the police during the night. Serious damage and serious sabotage are both acts that according to the penal code can be committed for terrorist purposes, says Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jukka Rappe to Helsingin Sanomat.
He explains that they seriously discussed the possibility of investigating it as a terrorist crime due to the fact that there were several cable sabotages.
– However, we came to the conclusion that it is more likely that it is a matter of gross damage or gross sabotage, says Rappe.
The police announced later on Thursday that they had opened a preliminary investigation into suspected serious sabotage.