Damage to cables at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. In the background, the Russian “shadow fleet”
On the first day of Christmas, Fingrid reported the failure of the EstLink 2 cable. The Finnish public broadcaster Yleisradio Oy wrote that there may have been “sabotage”. New information has emerged in the case. It will take months to repair the cable.
There are several cables running between Finland and Estonia. Technical problems occurred after four of them were damaged (they are located in the Gulf of Finland).
Finnish services are currently conducting an investigation into the issue of damage to EstLink 2 and possibly other damage to undersea infrastructure. It is currently suspected that the crew of the Eagle S tanker may be responsible for the act of vandalism.
Did the Russian crew cause the cable to break? A mysterious “shadow fleet” in the background
The ship, which flies the flag of the Cook Islands, is part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.” Eagle S was sailing from St. Petersburg towards Egypt, and its route was near EstLink2. In the meantime, a breakdown occurred. The ship was stopped in the Gulf of Finland by border guards and police.
“According to Markku Hassinen, deputy commander of the Border Guard, a border guard patrol vessel discovered on Wednesday (the first day of Christmas – ed.) that the ship’s anchors are not in place and that something abnormal is happening,” writes hs.fi. Journalists report that an investigation is underway in this case. This is about committing a serious offense.
The ship’s crew was interrogated, but its members pleaded not guilty.
The Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat found that Eagle S operated mainly in Turkey and India in the past. There were approximately 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline on board.
“HS” reveals that cable repair is not something that can be done quickly. “It is estimated that it will take several months,” we read.
The cable is over 170 km long
Even Prime Minister Petteri Orpo spoke out about the EstLink 2 failure. The head of the Finnish government assured that “the authorities remain vigilant even during the holidays.”
The cable is 171 kilometers long, of which 145 km of the undersea section runs through the Gulf of Finland, 12 km of cables run on land through Estonia, and the remaining 14 km are overhead lines in Finland.
