Both cables between Finland and Estonia were damaged on December 25. Suspicion falls on the oil tanker “Eagle S”, which could be part of the Russian “ghost fleet”.
Published on 06/01/2025 16:56
Updated on 06/01/2025 17:16
Reading time: 2min
Back to normal. Two of the telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia which were damaged on Christmas Day in the Baltic Sea, during a suspected sabotage which affected several submarine cables, have been repaired, announced the operator Elisa AFP, Monday January 6.
The Finnish police, who opened an investigation on December 26 for “aggravated sabotage” after damage to four telecommunications cables and an electric cable (EstLink 2), suspect the tanker Eagle S to be the cause of the damage. “There is evidence of the presence ofEagle S on the site” where the cables were cut, said Elisa’s security manager, who stressed that the investigation was still ongoing, which prevented him from commenting with certainty on the responsibilities. “The cables were cut in such a way that it looks like being cut by an anchor”added the manager.
L’Eagle S is not an oil tanker like any other: it is suspected of being part of a Russian “ghost fleet”, a group of ships transporting Russian products under sanctions and which operate under foreign flags to cover their tracks. Flying the flag of the Cook Islands and coming from a Russian port, theEagle S was boarded and is now off the coast of Porkkala, about 30 km south of Helsinki. Eight of its sailors are prohibited from leaving Finnish territory.
Estlink 2 has not been repaired yet. The Cinia company, which operates one of the other damaged cables, the C-Lion 1 between Finland and Germany, estimates that it should be repaired by January 10. No information is available about the last telecoms cable concerned, operated by Citic between Helsinki and Tallinn.
