The Finnish prosecutor’s office has indicted three crew members of the tanker Eagle S, who are alleged to have been involved in the destruction of submarine cables in the Baltic Sea at the end of last year, as part of a series of events deemed acts of sabotage in a crucial maritime zone, according to AFP.
„The Deputy Attorney General has commenced legal action for aggravated criminal damage and aggravated obstruction of communications against the captain and the first mates of the Eagle S tanker, which is registered in the Cook Islands,” the statement noted.
The tanker is believed to have caused damage to the EstLink 2 submarine power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day 2024, dragging its anchor across the seabed for a span of 90 kilometers.
„The owners of the cables have incurred at least 60,000,000 euros in direct damages solely for repairs. The interference with electricity transmission and communication cables posed a significant threat to Finland’s energy provision and communication network, even though services could still be sustained via alternative connections,” Finnish prosecutors assert.
The nationality of the three seafarers has not been revealed, but Deputy Attorney General Jukka Rappe mentioned that many crew members were of Indian and Georgian descent.
The accused have refuted the allegations and claimed that Finland lacks jurisdiction in this case, as the cables were damaged outside Finnish territorial waters. Nonetheless, these incidents „seriously compromised essential societal functions,” which is why Finnish jurisdiction applies, Rappe argues. The trial is scheduled to commence in two weeks.
The destruction in the Baltic Sea is perceived by some experts and political officials within the framework of a „hybrid war” being waged by Moscow against Western nations in this extensive maritime region surrounded by several NATO countries and Russia.
Tensions in the region have heightened since Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A series of underwater explosions harmed the Nord Stream gas pipelines that delivered Russian gas to Europe in September 2022, with the cause still under investigation.
In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden reversed their stance on military non-alignment and became NATO members.
Eagle S is believed to be associated with the „ghost fleet,” a term coined for often outdated, inadequately insured vessels operating under a foreign flag, suspected of being employed by Russia to bypass Western sanctions aimed at its oil exports.
