Hybrid Warfare
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The ship suspected of damaging an electricity cable linking Finland to Estonia flies the flag of the Cook Islands but is known for its membership in the Russian ghost fleet, which transports oil subject to sanctions. He would also have been equipped with listening devices to spy on NATO buildings.
It was 12:26 p.m. on December 25 when the Eagle S, a blue and red tanker, 228 meters long, passed over Estlink 2, one of the underwater electrical cables laid at the bottom of the Baltic to connect Finland to Estonia. At that exact minute, the cable was turned off. A few moments earlier, the boat had reduced its speed, going from its cruising speed of 12 knots (22 kilometers per hour) to 9 (16 kilometers per hour). For the third time in just over a year, a series of underwater infrastructures have been damaged in what increasingly resembles a systematic sabotage operation in this small, almost closed sea bordered by eight countries. NATO members… and by Russia.
The scenario is the same each time. A cable (electricity, Internet and even a gas pipeline) laid on the seabed is damaged when a ship, a frequent visitor to Russian ports, passes over it. But this time, the profile of the suspect boat is particularly interesting.
France
World
