Cable damage in the Gulf of Finland: Eagle S anchor lifted from the seabed

The anchor of the tanker Eagle S, suspected of damaging a cable in the Gulf of Finland, has been found and raised from the seabed.

This is reported by Yle.

According to the publication, the anchor was raised by the Swedish ship HMS Belos. The Finnish Navy reported on January 5 that a Swedish submarine rescue vessel is assisting the Finns in underwater operations.

The anchor is now in the possession of Finnish authorities and will be thoroughly investigated today.

The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspects that the anchor was used to sever a cable between Finland and Estonia and damage four telecommunications cables.

Eight crew members of the vessel are suspected of aggravated sabotage and interference with telecommunications.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is completing its inspection of the Eagle S as part of its Port State Control (PSC). According to a statement from Traficom, the inspection was conducted over the weekend, and another final visit to the vessel is planned.

The PSC is an international surveillance regime in which participating countries inspect foreign vessels calling at their ports to verify the vessel's compliance with requirements set out in international conventions.

The inspection of the Eagle S in Ghana in 2023 found 24 serious non-conformities, including critical issues with maintenance, equipment, fire alarms and emergency power supply.

As reported by Ukrinform, the cable between Finland and Estonia along with four telecommunications lines, was damaged on December 25. The next day, Finnish authorities boarded a tanker carrying Russian oil, suspecting it of causing damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed.