The oil vessel Eagle S, which is suspected of involvement in the cable break in the Baltic Sea, was “full of spy equipment”.
This is stated by a source for the magazine Lloyd’s List.
On Thursday, the oil tanker Eagle S was boarded by Finnish police and military. The ship is suspected of involvement in the cable break on the Estlink 2 electricity cable, between Finland and Estonia during Christmas Day.
Now a source with “direct connection” to the ship tells the British magazine Lloyd’s List that it was “crammed full of spy equipment”, and had effectively been turned into a “Russian spy ship”.
On board the ship there must have been, among other things, interception and recording equipment to monitor sea and air traffic. The equipment must have required so much power that it caused several power outages on board.
The equipment must have had both Turkish and Russian keyboards, and according to the source, must have been used by Russian and Turkish officers to listen in on NATO ships and aircraft.
Had sold services to the ship
According to the newspaper, the source has sold services to the ship earlier in the year, and reacted to the large amount of high-tech equipment on board. The source also allegedly handed over 60 confidential documents about the ship, which they verified.
Eagle S was boarded by Finnish military and police on Thursday. According to the police in Finland, a so-called air bridge was created between the mainland and the ship.
The crew of the ship consists of about 20 people from Georgia and India, reports Iltalehti. They have been questioned, and some of them are suspected of crimes, but the police have not made a decision on possible arrests at this time.
Suspected of connection to Russia
The break on the large electricity cable Estlink 2 was discovered at lunchtime on Christmas Day. It is being investigated by the police, other authorities and the grid operator Fingrid as gross sabotage.
The damage was located in Finnish waters and suspicion was directed at the Eagle S. It is believed to be linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is often described as a way for belligerent Moscow to circumvent international sanctions.
On Boxing Day it was discovered that communication cables between Estonia and Finland were also damaged, probably by the tanker’s anchor where police found “visual evidence”.
Estonia’s military has launched an operation to protect the Estlink 1 cable, which is laid on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland.