Finland releases tanker detained for three months for cable damage
Finland has released the Eagle S tanker from the secret fleet. The tanker had been detained since December last year for damaging submarine cables in the Baltic Sea. Although he has been released, the criminal investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
On March 3, Finnish authorities confirmed that the Eagle S had been allowed to leave Finnish territorial waters under the supervision of the Finnish Border Guard.
The authorities made the decision after investigators concluded that there were no longer legal grounds to detain the ship. But the police said the investigation into the case is still ongoing and eight crew members are suspected of serious crimes such as property damage and tampering with communications.
Three of them, from Georgia and India, are still under travel bans, while the other five have been allowed to leave Finland early.
The Cook Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S, built in 2006 and displacing 74,000 tonnes, was seized on December 25 after its anchor was dragged on the seabed.
This damaged four communications cables and the Estlink 2 power line between Finland and Estonia. The tug created a 100km trench on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
The anchor was found on January 6 as part of a criminal investigation.
NATO has stepped up surveillance in response to a series of similar cable outages in the region, with some officials suspecting the vandalism is linked to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Eagle S is believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, a group of older tankers used to transport Russian oil to circumvent Western sanctions.
While the Kremlin has denied involvement, the seizure of the vessel has fuelled speculation that hybrid tactics may be used.
Finnish police hope to complete their investigation by the end of April. Estonia’s Vingrid Oyj and Ellering AS, the transmission network operators affected by the cable damage, had initially considered retaining the ship as compensation for the damage.
But they later abandoned the plan, arguing that the cost of detaining and maintaining the ship was too high. Instead, they intend to seek legal redress.
When the ship was captured, Finnish special forces boarded the ship using ropes from a helicopter, rejecting the captain’s suggestion to use a pilot ladder. Authorities placed 12 security personnel on board the aircraft while it was detained to prevent unauthorized departure.
An inspection in January found safety defects in the Eagle S model, which have now been corrected. This allowed Finnish traffic authority Travcom to approve the tanker to depart.
The Eagle S is the third ship to be detained and released in recent months due to damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea.
Sweden has previously detained the Bulgarian bulk carrier Vision, blaming bad weather and poor maritime management for the damage.
Norway also briefly owned the fishing vessel Silver Daniel, but later determined that the vessel was not involved in any sabotage. Currently, the Baltic states have not formally accused any Russian-linked vessels of sabotage.
The International Cable Protection Committee reports that there are 150 to 200 submarine cable failures worldwide each year, with up to 80% caused by fishing or anchoring.
While some officials have claimed that the recent Baltic cable incidents are linked to Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy, others, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, have suggested that the blame may be due to incompetence or navigation errors.
Meanwhile, Russian telecommunications company RosTelecom recently announced that one of its submarine cables in the Baltic Sea was damaged by a ship pulling on its anchor.
The Eagle S left Finnish waters in the Gulf of Finland, escorted by the Border Guard and the Border and Coast Guard patrol ship Torva. As the flight continues, the three crew members remain subject to travel restrictions and are awaiting further legal action.
