The Finnish electricity network operator Fingrid announced on Thursday January 2 that it had asked a Helsinki court to seize the Eagle S tanker in order to obtain reimbursement after damage caused to the Estlink 2 electricity cable.
The underwater power cable connecting Finland and Estonia was damaged on December 25, along with four other telecommunications lines. Finnish authorities boarded the tanker the next day on suspicion of causing damage by dragging its anchor across the seabed.
Baltic Sea coastal countries are on alert after a series of breakdowns in power cables, telecommunications links and gas pipelines, common since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
NATO said last week it would strengthen its presence in the region.
Fingrid said in a statement that it had asked the Helsinki court to formally seize the Eagle S in order to secure its financial claim. “Further investigations at the incident site should make it possible to obtain more information on the extent of the damage and to plan repairs more precisely”the company said. A lawyer representing UAE-based Caravella LLC FZ, which owns the Eagle S vessel, did not respond to a request for comment.
The owner, however, asked the Finnish authorities to release the ship.
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