Finland on Thursday suspended a ship carrying oil destined for Russia in connection with a recent cut in an undersea cable connecting power to Estonia, amid growing concerns that ships could disrupt power and gas lines in European waters. It was captured.
Finland's national law enforcement agency, the Finnish Police, stated in a statement They had captured a ship called the Eagle S, registered in the Cook Islands.
The vessel is suspected of rupturing the Estlink 2 transmission cable, which connects electricity between Estonia and Finland, but police said they are currently investigating the incident as “aggravated criminal mischief.”
The power cable came loose on Wednesday. According to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said at the time that authorities “will be on standby throughout Christmas and investigating the matter.”
European officials say the ship is suspected of carrying Russian oil and is part of a vast shadow fleet used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. That's what it means.
The European Commission said the disruption was “the latest in a series of alleged attacks on critical infrastructure”.
“We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe's critical infrastructure,” the officials said. statement. “The suspected vessels are part of Russia's shadow fleet, which funds Russia's war budget and threatens its security and environment at the same time. We propose further measures, including sanctions targeting this fleet. do.”
The European Commission said it will work to strengthen submarine cable protection through enhanced relevant detection methods, information sharing and repair operations.
Finnish leaders have also expressed concern about Russia's alleged involvement in the cable cutting.
“It is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to Russia's shadow fleet,” Finnish President Alexander Stubbe wrote. Social media platform X.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal prompted The European Union and Western security alliance NATO will increase cooperation in efforts to protect undersea cables.
The incident follows an alarming trend of undersea cable cutting in western Europe.
The Chinese ship Yipeng 3 is suspected of rupturing the submarine cables connecting Sweden and Lithuania and Germany and Finland last month.
A Chinese ship recently left European waters despite an ongoing investigation into the matter. Authorities have accused the vessel of dragging its anchor to sever the line, but they are still investigating whether it was an accident or intentional.
Last year, a Hong Kong-registered ship severed a vital gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland.
