Finland ‘seizes’ ship blamed for Baltic cable cuts

Published December 29, 2024
THE Eagle S (right), an oil tanker which operates under the flag of Cook Islands, is anchored beside Uisko, a Finnish border guard ship (back centre), and tugboat Ukko (front left), on Saturday.—AFP
THE Eagle S (right), an oil tanker which operates under the flag of Cook Islands, is anchored beside Uisko, a Finnish border guard ship (back centre), and tugboat Ukko (front left), on Saturday.—AFP

HELSINKI: Finnish police on Saturday moved a ship held over suspicions it sabotaged an undersea power cable between Fin­land and Estonia to help with their investigations.

Since Thursday, Finnish authorities have been investigating the Eagle S tanker, which Helsinki suspects of having Russian connections, as part of a probe into the “aggravated sabotage” of the Estlink 2 submarine cable in the Baltic Sea.

That cable’s disconnection on Christmas Day was the latest in a spate of incidents Western officials believe are acts of sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Cook Islands-flagged ship was then escorted towards the Finnish coast near Porkkala in the south of the Nordic nation.

Finnish police reported the tanker was moved under escort on Saturday to an inner anchorage in Porvoo, a town some 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Helsinki. “The reason for the transfer is that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has seized Eagle S.”, the police said in a statement.

Investigations on board were to resume once the vessel had anchored again at its new location. “The new location offers a better option for carrying out investigative measures,” the statement added. Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in Feb 2022.

The Estlink’s disconnection comes just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic.

Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said on Friday the US-led defence alliance would bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea in response.

Finnish customs suspect the Eagle S to be part of the Russian shadow fleet, referring to ships transporting Russian crude and oil products which are embargoed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

No time left
Updated 06 Feb, 2025

No time left

Climate change concerns continue to remain a footnote as politics dominates national discourse, surfacing only when disaster strikes.
Karim Aga Khan
06 Feb, 2025

Karim Aga Khan

PRINCE Karim Aga Khan was a man who straddled various worlds and cultures. Beyond his role as spiritual leader of ...
Cotton production
06 Feb, 2025

Cotton production

PAKISTAN’S cotton crop is on the ropes. The crop output has been falling since FY15, when the country harvested a...
Kashmir question
Updated 05 Feb, 2025

Kashmir question

The important thing is to continue dialogue process, on bilateral disputes, Kashmir issue, and move beyond rigid positions.
Letters from jail
05 Feb, 2025

Letters from jail

OVER the past week, former prime minister Imran Khan has directly addressed his concerns to both the chief justice ...
Agriculture tax
05 Feb, 2025

Agriculture tax

WITH Sindh and Balochistan finally approving changes to their agriculture income tax laws to harmonise their AIT...