Finland expands investigation into tanker suspected of sabotage in Baltic Sea

Finland is expanding its investigation into the tanker Eagle S, suspected of involvement in the sabotage that broke an electrical cable between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea last week.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency announced on January 2 that it is inspecting the tanker, in addition to the investigation already being conducted by Finnish police.

“On January 2, 2025, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom will begin an inspection inspection (…) Eagle S”, — Traficom Director Sanna Sonninen announced in a press release.

“We are conducting the inspection in a way that does not interfere with police operations and investigations”, – she added.

The Cook Islands-flagged vessel Eagle S is suspected of damaging the EstLink 2 undersea power cable, possibly by dragging an anchor along the seabed for many kilometres.

The vessel was detained by the Finnish Coast Guard and escorted to the port of Kilpilahti, near Helsinki. Investigators inspected the ship and questioned its crew of about twenty.

Finnish police said on December 31 that they were investigating seven of the ship's sailors and had been banned from leaving the country.

“Seven employees, whose status in the criminal investigation is determined as a suspect, have been banned from leaving”, — the Finnish police said in a statement.

Finnish police also said earlier that they had found traces on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, probably from the dragging of an anchor, stretching for tens of kilometers in the area where a Russian oil tanker is believed to have severed an electrical and four telecommunications cables.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that the dragging of an anchor along the seabed could hardly be considered accidental.

NATO responded to the incident by announcing its intention to increase its presence in the region, while Estonia sent a ship to patrol another electrical cable connecting Finland with Estonia.

The owner of the Eagle S, Caravella LLC FZ, based in the United Arab Emirates, filed a request with the Helsinki District Court on December 30 to lift the arrest of the vessel.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a series of incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea that experts believe are part of Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine's allies and NATO members located around the sea.

One of the latest such incidents was the rupture of two telecommunications cables in Swedish territorial waters on November 17 and 18.

The Chinese-flagged bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was passing over the cables at the time and is suspected of involvement in the sabotage. The ship has since left the region.

In response to the incident, the European Union announced that it was strengthening measures to protect undersea cables by improving information sharing and using new detection technologies.