Finnish prosecutors have charged the captain and two senior officers of the Eagle S tanker, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, over the alleged destruction of critical undersea cables linking Finland and Estonia last December.
The Cook Islands-flagged ship, which had sailed from Russia’s Ust-Luga with oil products, is accused of dragging its anchor for around 90 km in the Gulf of Finland, severing the Estlink-2 power link and four communication cables. Repair costs have topped $75m.
Estlink-2 can supply roughly half of Estonia’s winter electricity needs. Although service was maintained via alternative connections, the incident drove Baltic energy prices higher.
The Eagle S—one of many ageing, obscurely owned tankers operating outside Western insurance rules—has been identified by the EU and Finnish customs as part of the post-Ukraine invasion sanctions-busting fleet.
Sabotage at sea has been an increasing theme since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the Nord Stream pipeline explosions underscored Europe’s vulnerability beneath the waves. More recently, Splash has tracked a surge in incidents involving subsea communications and energy links in the Baltic and North Seas—many suspected to involve vessels from the shadow fleet.
