Finland probes Russian shadow fleet involvement in new Baltic cable break

Finnish police say there is reason to believe a ship belonging to Moscow’s sanctions-busting flotilla caused the damage.

Finland has opened a criminal investigation into the potential involvement of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in breaking an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Thursday called the shadow fleet “a huge threat.”

The fleet, also known as ghost vessels, refers to a group of aging ships trading sanctioned Russian fuel behind murky ownership structures, posing threats to NATO members as well as to the maritime environment.

In addition to the broken power cable, four telecoms cables were disrupted: three between Finland and Estonia, and one between Finland and Germany. Three of those connections are completely down, Helsinki said.

Following the incident, the Finnish police and border guard stopped the Eagle S oil tanker, which was flying a Cook Islands flag, and imposed a 3-kilometer flight ban around the area.

The tanker slowed significantly at the time the accident happened, according to Finnish media reports.

“There is reason to suspect that this ship has caused damage to this Estlink electricity network cable,” said Police Chief Ilkka Koskimäki.

Director General of Finnish Customs Sami Rakshit said “the assumption at the moment is that it is a vessel belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.”

According to Rakshit, the tanker was carrying 35,000 tons of unleaded petrol that had been loaded in Russian ports. The vessel had previously sailed near Turkey and India.

A preliminary investigation into “a serious regulatory offence” has been launched and the cargo will be detained, Rakshit added.

The European Commission described the incident as “the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure.

“The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet,” the Commission said.

Robin Lardot, head of the Finnish National Criminal Police, said a criminal report has been filed for aggravated vandalism, and that authorities will need to thoroughly investigate the seabed.

According to the police, the investigation is still in its early stages. A prosecutor has been appointed to the case.

Lloyd’s List, a British publication that analyzes maritime traffic, has categorized Eagle S as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.

In a subsequent press conference, PM Orpo said that “more means are needed to stop shadow fleets.” He emphasized the need for strengthened cooperation among the Baltic states, as well as with NATO and the EU.

“Everything is a result of [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and its financing with the shadow fleet,” Orpo said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a post on X that he had been briefed on the matter by the police and the border guard. “The risks posed by vessels belonging to the Russian shadow fleet must be countered,” he wrote.

The incident follows several disruptions in the Baltic Sea in recent months, including a broken internet cable between Finland and Germany, and another one between Finland and Sweden./Politico/