Shadow fleet under scrutiny: Crew held for Baltic cable damage
Finnish police reported on Tuesday that seven crew members of the ship Eagle S, suspected of severing an underwater power cable in the Baltic Sea, are under investigation and prohibited from leaving Finland. The vessel was detained in the Gulf of Finland and then towed to the port of Porvoo.
The police reported that seven crew members of the Eagle S are under criminal investigation and are subject to travel restrictions. It is believed that the vessel severed the EstLink 2 cable on the Baltic seabed and connected Finland to Estonia on December 25. Additionally, there are suspicions that the ship is part of a Russian shadow fleet used to evade sanctions and facilitate the export of oil and other resources, generating funds for Russia's war effort against Ukraine.
Investigators from the Finnish Central Criminal Police suspect that the EstLink 2 cable damage might have been caused by the anchor of the Eagle S, a ship sailing under the Cook Islands flag, on a voyage from St. Petersburg to Egypt carrying approximately 35,000 tons of Russian gasoline. The case is formally being investigated as vandalism and property damage. On the same day, four submarine data cables were damaged: three between Finland and Estonia and one connecting Finland to Germany. It has not yet been determined if these events are connected.
Eagle S was detained and escorted by a border guard patrol boat. Last Thursday, shortly after midnight, officers boarded it. On Friday, Finnish customs reported that they seized 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline that Eagle S had loaded in the Russian ports near St. Petersburg.
According to customs, the vessel hadn't previously operated in the Gulf of Finland, but mostly traveled between Turkey and India, which is "significant information" from a sanctions compliance perspective. The tanker's crew of about 20 consists mainly of citizens from Georgia and India.
Last Thursday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo declared that the damage to the EstLink 2 power line is a "consequence of Russia's attack on Ukraine." However, he acknowledged that it's too early to accuse Russia directly, but the "shadow fleet sails on its behalf. "
According to the Finnish government head, Russian shadow fleet tankers are "a threat to all Baltic countries and the EU. Hence, additional means are needed to stop them." He added that tankers are filling Russia's treasury and its war fund, emphasizing that about 80 ships are currently on the EU's sanctioned shadow fleet list, but similar vessels might number over 400. Eagle S has not yet been added to the blacklist.
Repair could take over half a year
On Wednesday, the Finnish operator Fingrid announced the EstLink 2 outage, which disrupted energy transmission between Finland and Estonia. According to them, the repair could take up to seven months.
The EstLink 2 power connection, maintained by Finland's Fingrid and Estonia's Elering, spans about 105 miles, with approximately 90 miles running along the seabed of the Gulf of Finland between Estonia's Pussi and Finland's Porvoo. The cable was commissioned in 2014. It represents an important transmission link between Finland and the Baltic countries, with a capacity of over 650 MW. The currently operating EstLink 1 cable has a capacity of 350 MW.
