Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker ‘under investigation’ as ANOTHER deep sea cable is damaged sparking fears of sabotage
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A RUSSIAN oil tanker is being investigated for potential sabotage after another underwater cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea. Finnish authorities are probing Eagle S vessel from the Russian "shadow fleet" after the Estlink 2 subsea electricity cable went off on Christmas day.
![[The EstLink 2 power cable]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/estlink-2-power-cable-959876572.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The incident cut off the electricity connection between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day. With a transmission capacity is over 650 megawatts, the 170-kilometre-long cable is an important electricity transmission link for Finland and the Baltics. It's the latest in a series of incidents in the region in which undersea cables appear to have been damaged.
![[Eagle S crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands was seen passing over the cable]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/eagle-s-crude-oil-tanker-959876574.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Authorities are investigating if it was an act of sabotage by the Russians as the Eagle S was seen passing over the cable at the time of the incident. Some reports say the Eagle S slowed down to a quarter of its speed a few minutes before it crossed Estlink 2.
![[Russia could be behind the suspected sabotage attack]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-igora-ski-resort-north-959771930.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Meanwhile, a Hong Kong-registered tanker called Xin Xin Tian 2 also reportedly passed over the cable around the time the Estlink 2 outage occurred. It is owned by logistics company Hainan Yangpu, part of the Torgmol group, which has close ties to Russia.
Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid representative Arto Pahkin said intentional malicious action has not been ruled out. He said: “The possibility of vandalism cannot be ruled out. However, we are currently studying the situation as a whole and will inform you of the cause of the malfunction as soon as we know it.”.
