Finland is investigating a Russian tanker suspected of sabotaging an undersea power cable on Christmas Day. The EU is threatening sanctions against the Russian “ghost fleet”, accused of threatening European infrastructure. A new episode of hybrid warfare being played out in the Baltic Sea…
On Boxing Day, some very disturbing news comes to us from the icy waters of the Baltic Sea. A massive Russian-flagged tanker is suspected of deliberately cutting a vital underwater power cable, plunging the link between Finland and Estonia into darkness. This alleged act of sabotage takes place in a context of growing tensions between Russia and Western countries, a hybrid war which is now also being played out in the depths of the sea.
The Eagle S in the sights of the Finnish authorities
The ship at the heart of this affair is the Eagle S, an oil tanker suspected by Finnish authorities of being part of a mysterious Russian “ghost fleet”. Quickly intercepted off the coast of Helsinki by the coast guard, the crew was questioned and evidence seized. The investigation opened for “aggravated sabotage” is trying to determine whether the missing anchor of the Eagle S could be the weapon of the crime.
According to a source close to the matter, the tanker was carrying on board “unleaded gasoline loaded in a Russian port”. A detail which only increases the suspicions weighing on this ship and its real intentions in the region.
A “ghost fleet” in the EU’s crosshairs
This incident occurs while the European Union has this famous Russian “ghost fleet” in its sights, made up of ships suspected of circumventing Western sanctions by transporting Russian oil and petroleum products under embargo. Faced with the multiplication of acts of sabotage targeting European critical infrastructures, Brussels has promised a firm response:
We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget.
– European Commission and Kaja Kallas, head of EU diplomacy
Baltic Sea: a new front in hybrid warfare
The waters of the Baltic Sea have in recent months become the scene of a worrying series of incidents targeting energy and communications infrastructure. Cut cables, damaged gas pipelines… For many experts, these actions are part of the “hybrid war” pitting Russia against Western countries in this strategic zone, bordered by several NATO members but where Moscow also retains entry points.
A context which pushes the EU to strengthen its measures to protect critical underwater infrastructures, in particular by improving the exchange of information and developing new detection and repair technologies. Constant vigilance seems more necessary than ever in the face of this invisible threat coming from the depths.
Finland and Estonia hand in hand in the face of the threat
On the Finnish side, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the breakdown on the EstLink 2 cable as “very serious”, insisting on the need for “decisive and determined” action to protect the country’s territorial waters. His Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, for his part stressed that the frequency of these incidents made it difficult to believe in simple accidents or navigation errors:
Dragging an anchor across the seabed can hardly be considered an accident.
– Margus Tsahkna, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
An analysis shared by many observers, who see it as the mark of deliberate actions aimed at testing Western defenses and sowing chaos. The challenge: control of this maritime space vital for trade and European energy supplies.
Time for the European counter-offensive
Faced with this hybrid offensive coming from the East, Europe seems determined to fight back. The blacklisting of around fifty additional tankers from the Russian “ghost fleet”, recently decided by the 27, is a first step. But many more will undoubtedly be needed to sustainably secure the seas of the Old Continent in the face of this new form of conflict, where weapons are as invisible as they are formidable.
The Eagle S affair could well be the symbol of this: in the troubled waters of the Baltic Sea, another war is now being fought. A war without a front or uniform, but whose consequences could be serious for the security and prosperity of an entire continent. Will Europe manage to thwart the traps set in its waters? The future of its energy supply, and perhaps its sovereignty, depends on it.
