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Authorities in Finland are investigating an oil tanker that is part of a Russian fleet for cutting the power line between Finland and Estonia.
The Eagle S was grounded by Finnish authorities after the Estlink 2 subsea electricity cable in the Gulf of Finland was destroyed on Wednesday. The tanker, registered in the Cook Islands and carrying oil from Russia to Egypt according to vessel tracking data, was seen passing over the cable at the time of the incident.
The old ship is part of a Russian fleet and is the focus of Finland's investigation, according to people familiar with the investigation. The Eagle S is also under investigation for having cut three communication cables in the Gulf of Finland, the people added.
I the shadow of the ships is a group of old and mostly intact ships used by Russia to avoid international sanctions on oil exports.
The Christmas Day incident appears to be the latest in a series of pipelines and cables being targeted in the Baltic Sea by foreign vessels, prompting fears of a deliberate attack on infrastructure in between. Nato countries.
“We need to be able to prevent the risks posed by Russian aircraft carriers,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at X post after a meeting with security chiefs on Thursday.
Last year the Chinese ship, the New Polar Bear, cutting the gas pipe between Finland and Estonia but was not stopped by the authorities as it was in international waters.
A Chinese telecom operator, Yi Peng 3, last month transferred two data lines between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania about the times they were disconnected. Stopped for a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden.
Chinese researchers even boarded the ship last week, with representatives from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Finland as observers. But Sweden's foreign minister criticized Beijing for not allowing Sweden's top investigator board or inspect the vesselwho has now left the area.
The side of the Eagle S is different as the ship stopped voluntarily inside Finnish waters, according to people familiar with the investigation, leaving no question about the administration. Ownership of the Eagle S is unclear but it appears to be the only ship of the Dubai company. Efforts to reach the homeowner Thursday were unsuccessful.
Authorities have not determined the reason for the disconnection of the Estlink 2 line. Estonia also said it would not affect its electricity supply. The cable is used to export electricity from Finlandwhich recently brought its latest nuclear power plant online, in Estonia.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the country's electricity supply would not be affected.
The authorities in Finland are always thinking about the latest incident, because a lot of unmanned ships are sailing in the Baltic Sea.
Environmental campaigners have issued repeated warnings about the dangers of the area and other shipwrecks.
In the Mediterranean, a Russian cargo ship under US sanctions for working with the Russian military sank between Spain and Algeria on Tuesday.