Finland investigates Russian ship after electricity disconnection

Finnish police are investigating whether a Russian ship damaged the power line between Finland and Estonia.

Officials said Thursday they believe the anchor of the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-registered tanker, may have damaged the Estlink 2 cable, which was shut down on Wednesday.

The vessel is believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, which is made up of ships carrying illegal Russian oil..

It is the latest incident in recent years, where submarine cables in the Baltic region have been damaged or cut completely.

Fingrid, which operates Finland’s national grid, said Estlink 2 was out of service but the damage “did not affect the electricity supply” in the country.

The renovation is expected to take “several months”.

Robin Lardot, director of the National Investigation Agency of Finland (NBI) said:

President Alexander Stubb wrote on X that he had been given a “briefing” on cable violations from the authorities.

He stressed the need to avoid “dangers” posed by ships in the navy.

Finnish police say the case is being investigated as a “large-scale crime”.

The damaged cable had a transmission capacity of 650 megawatts and is 170km long (105 km), 145km of which is submerged. The error was discovered on Thursday in the submarine section.

Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, said on Thursday that the damage to the naval equipment has been so “frequent” that it casts doubt on the idea that this damage can be considered “accidental” or “just sailing”.

“We must understand that the destruction of underwater infrastructure has been systematic, and therefore should be considered an attack on our vital infrastructure,” Tsahkna said in a press release.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the Eagle S has been escorted to a Finnish port.

“In addition to sanctions, shadow vessels are a threat to the Baltic Sea and we cannot just sit back and watch,” Tsahkna continued.

Listen: How complicated are the submarine cables that connect us?

The communication cable between Finland and Germany was cut in November, and the internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working immediately.

German prosecutors are still investigating the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany in 2022.

And in October 2023 the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was seriously damaged.

Finnish officials later said the incident was caused by a Chinese ship pulling anchor.