Finland investigates Russian 'Shadow Fleet' for damage to undersea power cables

by GRID-Arendal

Finnish police have announced that they are investigating the damage to the undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia that occurred on December 25, 2024, as a possible cause being a tanker associated with Russia's 'Shadow Fleet.'

HS.fi
https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000010926651.html

Finland seizes Russian shadow fleet oil tanker after cable-cutting incident
https://www.ft.com/content/0c208ac1-f416-41b2-a373-ec7f90b84ca8

Finland investigates Russian 'shadow fleet' ship over Baltic Sea cable damage | Euronews
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/12/26/undersea-power-cable-linking-finland-and-estonia-suffers-damage-in-latest-baltic-sea-incid

On December 25, 2024, a major fault occurred on the Estlink 2 submarine power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, causing a drop in transmission capacity of more than 65%. As a result, the facility's transmission capacity has been significantly reduced from 1,016 megawatts to 358 megawatts.

Large-scale failure of undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia, possibility of sabotage by external forces - GIGAZINE

Finnish authorities said the damage to Estlink 2 may have been caused by the Cook Islands -flagged cargo ship Eagle S, which was sailing in the Baltic Sea. Local reports said the Eagle S was sailing through the affected area when Estlink 2 was cut off, and was apparently slowing down at the time.

Bluesky also noted that the Eagle S slowed the ship's travelling speed by a quarter just minutes before crossing over Estlink 2.

Cook Island flag oil tanker Eagle S lost 25% of her speed minutes before she crossed the broken cable Estlink2. She crossed at 10:26Z, ie the time of cable fault.
She proceeded at affected speed til she reached shallow waters, where she lost all momentum. After some maneuvers she regained speed.

[image or embed]

— auonsson ( @auonsson.bsky.social ) December 26, 2024 2:23

On December 26, 2024, authorities issued a sailing ban on the Eagle S and began an investigation on suspicion of 'damaging one undersea power cable and three communication cables.' The Eagle S had previously sailed under the flags of Turkey and India, but Finnish authorities believe that the Eagle S is linked to Russia's 'Shadow Fleet.' The 'Shadow Fleet' is a clandestine tanker used by Russia for oil trading, which is under sanctions such as restrictions on crude oil exports since its invasion of Ukraine. The Eagle S was carrying about 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline at the time of seizure.

'We must prevent the danger posed by ships belonging to the Russian Shadow Fleet,' Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Twitter.

Jag fick en genomgång av kabelbrottet i Finska viken av polischefen Ilkka Koskimäki, chefen för Centralkriminalpolisen Robert Lardot och biträdande chefen för Gränsbevakningsväsendet Markku Hassinen. händelserna.

Vi…

— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) December 26, 2024

At the same time, the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship 'Xin Xin Tian 2' was also sailing in the same area. In November 2024, a Chinese ship was suspected of damaging an undersea cable connecting Finland and Germany, and the China-related Xin Xin Tian 2 has been under investigation.