Cable damage in the Baltic Sea: Finnish court upholds tanker arrest

The Helsinki Court of Appeal has upheld the arrest of the tanker Eagle S, which was detained on December 26, 2024, Yle reports.

The vessel, which was sailing from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Egypt with a cargo of fuel, is suspected of deliberately damaging communication lines between Estonia and Finland.

Even if the tanker were released from police custody, it would still not be able to go to sea. The port authorities have forbidden it from leaving its berth until repairs are made. In addition, it is under arrest due to civil claims by the companies operating the damaged communication lines. They intend to seek compensation for the damage.

Two telecommunications and power cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea in recent months (not counting the latest incident). The Eagle S tanker, which flies the flag of the Cook Islands and, according to a number of reports, belongs to the Russian «shadow fleet», with the help of which Moscow circumvents sanctions on exported oil, is currently under arrest in Finland. It is likely that it was the anchor of this vessel that cut the Estlink 2 cable connecting Estonia and Finland.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb claimed that the cable break was likely sabotage by Russia.

On January 19, The Washington Post, citing senior US and EU officials, reported that the intelligence community is gradually concluding that the damage to the cables by the anchors of commercial vessels was not the result of deliberate actions directed by Moscow. According to the report, the available evidence at the moment allegedly indicates that the cables were damaged due to the inexperience of the crews of the poorly maintained vessels.

Officially, the Finnish Bureau of Investigation stated that the investigation is ongoing and it is too early to draw conclusions.