Electricity cable link to Estonia was damaged on Christmas Day in suspected Russian act of sabotage. Finnish investigators say they have found a seabed trail stretching almost 100km (about 60 miles) around the site of an underwater electricity cable that was damaged on Christmas Day in a suspected act of Russian sabotage.
The ship under suspicion of causing the damage, a vessel called the Eagle S flying the flag of the Cook Islands, is believed to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, used for transporting Russian oil products subject to embargos after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Our current understanding is that the drag mark in question is that of the anchor of the Eagle S,” the police chief investigator, Sami Paila, said on Sunday. “We have been able to clarify this matter through underwater research,” he told the Finnish national broadcaster Yle.
The apparent act of sabotage damaged the Estlink 2 electricity cable connecting Finland and Estonia. The cable will take months to repair, which could lead to increased electricity prices in Estonia over the winter. It is the latest in a series of suspicious incidents involving damage to underwater power and communications cables.
Paila said the “question of intent is a completely essential issue” and would be clarified during the investigation. However, a senior Estonian official said there was little doubt that the two countries were dealing with a deliberate attack. “If you’re dragging an anchor, it can’t be that you don’t notice it, because the ship would go off course. It’s clearly not possible,” the official told the Guardian.
