The Eagle S tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet” and of being the cause of a breakdown on a submarine cable in the Baltic Sea, was seized by Finnish police and moved for the purposes of the investigation, Helsinki said on Saturday.
“The cause of this transfer is that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized the Eagle S. […] The new location presents better possibilities for investigative procedures,” the police said.
Escorted to a suitable port
Finnish police indicated that the ship, which was sailing under the Cook Islands flag as part of this fleet intended to circumvent sanctions, came from Russia. He was arrested on December 26 after the rupture of an underwater electrical cable linking Finland to Estonia. It had been moved under escort to the harbor of the port of Kilpilahti, 40 kilometers east of Helsinki, intended for liquid cargo ships. The ship had previously been anchored off Porkkala, in the Gulf of Finland.
The Eagle S. is transporting unleaded gasoline loaded in a Russian port, bound for Egypt. Escorted by a Finnish coast guard patrol boat, the tanker left its anchorage late in the morning and dropped anchor in front of the port of Kilpilahti late in the afternoon, police said.
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Investigation for “sabotage”
On Christmas Day, the EstLink 2 electricity link between Finland and Estonia was disconnected from the network. The operator said it was “out of service” due to damage not yet assessed. Finnish police have opened an investigation for “sabotage”.
The Baltic Sea has been the scene, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, of several similar incidents. These actions, targeting in particular energy and communication infrastructures, are, according to experts and politicians, part of the context of the “hybrid war” led by Moscow in this vast area bordered, in addition to Russia, by member countries of the NATO.
