Saturday25 January 2025
nbn.in.ua

Cable break in the Baltic Sea: Finland detains a suspicious tanker as the EU bolsters security measures.

The Finnish Border Guard detained an oil tanker suspected of being involved in the damage to the Estlink 2 electric cable in the Gulf of Finland.

This is written by Yle.

Recently, it was reported that the 230-meter tanker Eagle S was stopped in Finnish territorial waters. It was sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands.

Finland suspects the vessel of being part of a "shadow fleet." According to the ship tracking service MarineTraffic, the tanker was en route from St. Petersburg to Egypt. The Finnish Customs Service stated that it had confiscated its cargo.

According to Lloyd's List, the Eagle S tanker is over 15 years old, its true owner is unknown, and its sole purpose is to transport oil from sanctioned countries.

MarineTraffic reported that the Eagle S noticeably slowed down while passing over a cable around the time of the break. When the border guard requested the vessel to raise its anchor, only the anchor chain surfaced. Therefore, it is believed that the ship's anchor caused the damage.

The European Commission stated that further sanctions would be imposed to counter the "shadow fleet" and that efforts to protect underwater cables are being strengthened. This includes improved information sharing, new detection technologies, as well as underwater repair capabilities and international cooperation.