Finland calls for stronger countermeasures against Russia's shadow fleet after cable incident

On December 26, 2024, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that he had received a report on the incident with damage to the cable in the Gulf of Finland from senior police and border guards.

He stressed that the authorities were cooperating effectively in investigating the incident. Stubb also emphasized the need to counter threats posed by Russian shadow fleet vessels, which may pose security risks.

Recall that on December 25, the EstLink 2 underwater power line between Estonia and Finland failed for unknown reasons.

The damage to the underwater power line in the Gulf of Finland between Finland and Estonia may have been intentional, as two ships were passing through there. One has a Chinese registration and was in contact with another suspicious vessel.

Earlier, an internet cable between Finland and Sweden was damaged. According to the investigation, it could have been deliberately anchored by the Chinese dry cargo ship Yi Peng 3 with a Russian crew, which was moving suspiciously with its transponders turned off.