Undersea power lines running between Finland and Estonia were disconnected on Christmas Day. Finland is pretty sure Russia is to blame. on Thursday Finnish authorities have boarded an oil tanker that was part of a Russian “shadow fleet” that had evaded sanctions. And someone happened to be seen crossing the EstLink 2 underwater cable as it stopped working. According to the Financial Times report–
continue The GuardianThe incident occurred at 12:26 local time on Wednesday, and Arto Pahkin, head of Finland's grid operations, said the incident occurred at 12:26 local time on Wednesday. It was immediately stated that sabotage could not be ruled out. Finnish officials also confirmed that damage had occurred. Other cables At least three linesThey may be part of the same event.
This led to the seizure of Eagle S, a Cook Islands-registered tanker. But it is believed to be of Russia. The ship's tracking data indicates it was carrying oil from Russia to Egypt. But there seemed to be enough room to cause chaos along the way. Authorities believe the anchor, which was not found on the ship, was used to cut the cable.
Authorities believe the Eagle S is part of Russia. Shadow FleetIt has been used since the start of the war with Ukraine to evade Western sanctions. The fleet consists of rickety old ships whose ownership is concealed by Russia using a variety of techniques. including a labyrinthine management structure Frequent loading and unloading of goods between ships. False information The identification system shuts down. and other plans It is believed that the country operates on 600 ships which is part of the unconventional oil business This is because many of these ships carry oil and are poorly maintained. Therefore, they often violate modern safety standards and ignore regulations. Resulting in additional dangers including: oil spill–
The cable cutting on Christmas Day was just the latest in a series of incidents where undersea cables connecting NATO countries were cut last month. Two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea—one running between Finland and Germany; Another line connects Lithuania and Sweden—cut– It is believed that these are the work of the Russian Shadow Fleet. who like to hang out near critical infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas According to the New York Times report–
Although attacks on these cables have not yet resulted in tangible disruption, But it has also raised concerns about how this underwater infrastructure could be targeted in future conflicts. The report has recommended that China has used a similar tactic in the past, using anchors to destroy undersea cables, is rather Easy to attackThis is because most cables are about as thick as they are. with garden hoses and placing them on the sea floor. Countries are exploring additional protections for these critical connections. to prevent future attacks