Finland finds signs of tug after cable damage on Baltic Sea floor Reuters

OSLO (Reuters) – Finnish police said on Sunday they had discovered dozens of kilometers of tracks on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, suggesting a Russian oil tanker had broken power lines and four telecom cables along its anchor.

The crew of the Cook Islands-registered tanker Eagle S is being questioned by Finnish police and coastguard officials after it sailed into Finnish waters on Thursday.

In the year After Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, disruptions to power cables, telecoms and gas pipelines put the Baltic Sea countries on high alert. He said NATO would increase its presence in the region.

The 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power line between Finland and Estonia went down at midday on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 connecting the two countries, grid operators said. They said Estlink 2 may not be back in service before August.

Finnish police suspect the Eagle S dragged its anchor on the seabed and caused the damage.

Investigators identified a “tow trail” but did not find a missing anchor, Finnish National Bureau of Investigation’s tactical leader and Chief Inspector Sami Paila said in a statement.

“The track is dozens of kilometers long,” Paila said.

Photos taken of the Eagle S on Friday show the ship missing its port side anchor.

Finland’s customs service believes the ship is part of a “shadow fleet” of age-old games used to evade sanctions on Russian oil exports.

The Kremlin said on Friday it was not concerned about the seizure of the Finnish ship.

Russia has denied any involvement in previous damage to Baltic infrastructure.