They are suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet”. Seven members of the crew of the Eagle S tanker are being investigated for sabotage of a submarine cable in the Baltic Sea and are banned from traveling, Finnish police announced on Tuesday.
The Eagle S, flying the flag of the Cook Islands, is suspected of having damaged the EstLink 2 submarine electric cable linking Finland to Estonia in the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day. The ship was boarded then moved under escort to the harbor of the port of Kilpilahti, 40 kilometers east of Helsinki where investigators inspected it and questioned its crew of around twenty members.
A “drag mark”
Regarding the seven suspects, “the travel ban is a less severe coercive measure limiting individual freedom than arrest, and it is imposed to ensure that the criminal investigation is not compromised and that the parties can be joined during the investigation,” said an investigation official, Elina Katajamäki, of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) quoted in the press release. The number of suspects could change, she said.
The police also resumed their underwater investigations which had been interrupted on Monday due to bad weather. She revealed on Sunday that a “drag mark” of several tens of kilometers had been identified on the seabed.
The Russian “ghost fleet”
The Eagle S is suspected of belonging to the Russian “ghost fleet”, a term for ships that transport embargoed Russian crude oil and petroleum products. NATO announced on Friday that it would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea. Many similar incidents have taken place in the Baltic since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
These actions, targeting in particular energy and communication infrastructures, are part, underline experts and political leaders, in the context of the “hybrid war” between Russia and Western countries, in this vast maritime area bordered by several members of the NATO, where Moscow also has entry points.
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