Finnish authorities seized a vessel in the Baltic Sea on suspicion of disconnecting an underwater power cable connecting Finland and Estonia and damaging four internet lines.
The Cook Islands-registered vessel, Eagle S, was arrested on Thursday, 26 December, by the Finnish Coast Guard, Robin Lardot, director of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, reported.
From our side we are investigating grave sabotage. According to our understanding, an anchor of the vessel that is under investigation has caused the damage.
Two fibre-optic cables owned by Finnish operator Elisa and linking Finland and Estonia were severed. The third link between the two countries, belonging to the Chinese company Citic, was also damaged.
The fourth internet cable running between Finland and Germany, owned by Finnish group Cinia, is also suspected to have been severed. The incident highlighted the need for close international co-operation, with the US and NATO expressing their readiness to support the Finnish-Estonian investigation.
The two countries held extraordinary meetings to assess the situation on Thursday, according to separate statements. The Baltic Sea states are on high alert for potential acts of sabotage after a series of cable disruptions since 2022.
Repairs to the 170-kilometre Estlink 2 interconnector would take several months, with the outage raising the risk of power outages in winter, operator Fingrid said. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, however, emphasised that the country would have sufficient access to electricity.
The Eagle S Panamax oil tanker crossed the Estlink 2 electric cable on Wednesday. Damage to underwater facilities in the Baltic Sea became so frequent that it was hard to believe that it had been caused by a mere accident, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
We must understand that damage to submarine infrastructure has become more systematic and thus must be regarded as attacks against our vital structures.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys also said that the growing number of incidents in the Baltic Sea should serve as a warning to NATO and the European Union to step up protection of underwater infrastructure in the region.
The Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany, which runs along the seabed in the same waters, was blown up in 2022. The case is still under investigation in Germany.
