A SHADOWY Russian ship sabotaged a key power cable by dragging its anchor on the seabed for dozens of miles, Finnish authorities fear.
As well as rupturing the Estlink 2 power cable in the Gulf of Finland, four other communication lines were also damaged in a suspected deliberate act of vandalism.
East2WestThe moment Finnish police seize the Russian-linked shadow fleet tanker Eagle S[/caption]
East2WestThe EstLink 2 power cable[/caption]
Finnish police said they had found tracks along the bottom of the Baltic Sea where a tanker carrying Russian oil had sailed.
The Eagle S is a Cook Islands-registered 751-ft seen as part of Russia’s “shadow” or “dark” fleet operated by Vladimir Putin to evade sanctions.
Reports say the tanker is bristling with spy equipment enabling the Russians to monitor Nato shipping and aircraft.
The vessel was boarded by Finnish police and coast guard officials on Thursday and sailed into Finnish waters, where the crew of the impounded tanker is being questioned.
Anchor traces stretch more than 60 miles on the sea bed, according to Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Baltic Sea nations have been on high alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Nato said on Friday it would bolster its presence in the region.
A break in the 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia occurred at midday on Christmas Day, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 linking the two countries, grid operators said.
They said Estlink 2 might not be back in service before August.
Four other communication cables between Nato states Finland and Estonia were also damaged.
Detective Chief Inspector Sami Paila from Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said: “The trail ends where the ship raised the anchor chain, and from there to the east [the trail] stretches for several dozen, if not almost a hundred kilometres.”
It has not yet been possible to establish where exactly the anchor was dropped but a search of the seabed will continue after the weather conditions improve.
The crew, comprising citizens of India and Georgia, are facing questioning after the ship was held in the port of Kilpilahti.
According to the Marine Traffic service, the Eagle S departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga for Egypt but slowed down sharply while passing over the Estlink 2 cable on Christmas Day.
The cable immediately stopped working.
Sami Rakshit, head of Finland’s customs agency, said: “We assume at this stage that the vessel in question is a member of the shadow fleet.”
The Eagle S has previously dropped “sensors-type devices” in the English Channel during transit, said the British-owned shipping industry publication Lloyd’s List, which revealed the presence of spy equipment on board.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Finland’s seizure of the ship was of little concern to it.
Russia has denied involvement in any of the previous Baltic infrastructure damage incidents.
AFPA Finnish Coast Guard vessel (R) keeps watch on oil tanker Eagle S anchored near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo[/caption]
East2WestThe moment Finnish police seized Eagle S[/caption]
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