An oil ship called Eagle S has been arrested by Finnish authorities on suspicion of being connected to the recent damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, particularly the Estlink-2 power line that links Finland and Estonia. When the cable was believed to have been severed on December 25, Finnish customs and law enforcement quickly launched an inquiry.
The Cook Islands-registered Eagle S is thought to be a member of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a group of ships that circumvent Western sanctions on Russian oil exports. At the time of its arrest, the ship was apparently traveling from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Port Said, Egypt.
According to Finnish officials, the damage to the Estlink-2 cable and the disturbances to multiple other nearby telecommunications lines may have been caused by the ship’s anchor. This is being handled as a serious act of sabotage by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The event has sparked concerns about possible hybrid warfare strategies Russia may use against vital European infrastructure. Petteri Orpo, the prime minister of Finland, stressed the necessity of taking decisive action against the shadow fleet, which he said finances Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Additionally, NATO has stated that it is prepared to assist Finland and Estonia with their inquiries into this incident.
This incident fits into a concerning pattern of attacks on Europe’s vital infrastructure, which includes earlier occurrences like
