Finland investigates Russian Shadow Fleet oil tanker after cable cutting incident

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Finnish authorities are investigating an oil tanker that is part of Russia’s shadow fleet over whether it cut the power cable between Finland and Estonia.

The Eagle S was stopped by Finnish authorities after the Estlink 2 submarine power cable was cut in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday. The tanker, registered in the Cook Islands and carrying oil from Russia to Egypt according to ship tracking data, was seen passing over the cable at the time of the accident.

The old tanker is part of Russia’s shadow fleet and is the focus of the Finnish investigation, according to people familiar with the investigation. the Shadow fleet It is a collection of old and often poorly maintained ships that Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions imposed on its oil exports.

The Christmas Day incident appears to be the latest in a series of pipelines and cables targeted by foreign ships in the Baltic Sea, raising fears that vital infrastructure between the two countries could be damaged. NATO Countries are being deliberately targeted.

In a post on X, Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orbo said that authorities were investigating the incident. He added that “the interruption of transport connectivity will not affect the electricity supply to the Finns.”

Last year, the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear, Cutting the gas pipeline Between Finland and Estonia, but the authorities did not stop it, as happened in international waters.

The Chinese bulk carrier, Yi Peng 3, last month ran two data cables between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania at times when they were cut. It stopped for a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden.

Chinese investigators finally boarded the ship last week, with representatives from Sweden, Denmark, Germans and Finns serving as observers. But the Swedish Foreign Minister criticized Beijing for not allowing the lead Swedish investigator to do so On board or for inspectionWhich has now left the area.

The Eagle S case is different, as the ship voluntarily stopped within Finnish waters, according to people familiar with the investigation, leaving no doubt about jurisdiction. The ownership of the Eagle S is a mystery but it appears to be the only ship owned by a company in Dubai. Attempts to reach the owner on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Authorities did not specify the cause of the Estlink 2 cable outage. Estonia also said it would not affect its electricity supply. The cable is used to export electricity from Finlandwhich recently commissioned its newest nuclear power plant in Estonia.

Finnish authorities are keeping an open mind about the latest incident, not least because dozens of poorly maintained ships in the Shadow Fleet are sailing in the Baltic Sea.

Environmental activists have issued repeated warnings about the dangers in the area and elsewhere from rickety ships.

In the Mediterranean, a Russian cargo ship subject to US sanctions due to its work with the Russian military sank between Spain and Algeria on Tuesday.