Another Baltic Sea Cable Damaged

Finnish authorities have boarded an oil tanker.

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It has happened again. Finnish authorities have detained and boarded the oil tanker ‘Eagle S’ for damaging an undersea electricity cable in the Baltic Sea. The cable was damaged on Christmas Day. A criminal investigation into the incident underway. Finnish police have also placed a ban on the airspace above the unfolding incident.

Unlike the recent series of events involving damaged undersea cables in the Baltic involving the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, the Eagle S was in Finland’s territorial waters, giving Finnish authorities freedom to exert their authority at will.

The 130-meter-long tanker is part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ used to circumvent sanctions on its oil and gas exports. It is sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands. According to MarineTraffic, the fully loaded oil tanker was on its way from St. Petersburg to Egypt. The British shipping journal Lloyd’s List says the tanker belongs to a company based in the United Arab Emirates called Caravella, which operates a fleet of just one vessel, the Eagle S. The journal has previously reported that the 20-year-old tanker is in “poor condition, posing a security and environmental risk.”

Finland’s Border Guard states that when the oil tanker was spotted near the submarine cable, it was asked to raise its anchor, “at which point it was noticed that the anchor was no longer supported by the anchor chain.”

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said in a social media post that he is following the situation in the Baltic closely.

“I received a briefing on the cable breach in the Gulf of Finland from Police Chief Ilkka Koskimäki, Head of the Central Criminal Police Robin Lardot, and Deputy Head of the Border Guard Markku Hassinen. Our authorities have cooperated effectively in investigating the events. It is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.”

The 170-kilometre-long EstLink 2 electrical cable runs between Finland and Estonia. Cable operator Fingrid says that the damaged cable is not currently impacting the Finnish electrical system. However, that situation could change.

“The electricity system is functioning normally, and electricity reliability is currently good; However, this situation may worsen if the weather conditions become colder for an extended period. However, during cold and windless periods, a failure of the EstLink 2 connection may make it more likely that the power situation will become tight.”

Fingrid says preparations for the repair work on the cable have begun, but repairs will likely take “several months.” It hopes to be able to provide a more precise timeline for the repair work next week.

Russia’s shadow fleet consists of aging oil tankers flying flags of convenience with hidden ownership and highly dubious insurance coverage. They carry sanctioned Russian oil to international markets via ports not enforcing sanctions or via ship-to-ship transfers at sea. Recently, European countries around the Baltic Sea agreed to cooperate more closely to counter Russia’s shadow fleet and on overall Baltic Sea security.