December 26th 2024.
In Frankfurt, Germany, there has been a recent incident involving a Russian-affiliated ship and damage to important infrastructure. According to reports from both police and news media, Finnish authorities have detained the vessel while they investigate its potential involvement in damaging a Baltic Sea power cable and multiple data cables. This is just the latest in a string of disruptions to key infrastructure.
Early Thursday morning, Finnish police and border guards boarded the ship, known as the Eagle S, and took control of the command bridge. The vessel is currently being held in Finnish territorial waters. While the ship is registered in the Cook Islands, Finnish customs officials suspect it may be a part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. These vessels are often older, with hidden ownership, and are used to evade Western sanctions during the conflict in Ukraine. They also operate without Western-regulated insurance.
According to reports from Yle television, the Eagle S's anchor is believed to have caused damage to the power cable. This information is based on statements from the police. The cable, known as Estlink-2, carries electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea. It experienced an outage on Wednesday. This comes after two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines were also damaged, all of which have been labeled as sabotage.
Estonia's government held an emergency meeting on Thursday to address the issue. Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that she was in close communication with both Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. Silina also commented on the situation, saying that their armed forces are closely monitoring the situation and that the Baltic states currently have enough energy production capacity to meet their needs, despite the cable incidents.
In November, two data cables - one between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden - were cut. Germany's defense minister has stated that they must assume it was an act of sabotage, although no evidence has been provided and it is unclear who may be responsible. This statement was made during a speech about the threat of hybrid warfare from Russia.
The Nord Stream pipelines, which were once used to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, were also damaged in September 2022 by underwater explosions. Authorities have confirmed that this was an act of sabotage and have launched criminal investigations. Fortunately, Estonian network operator Elering has stated that there is enough spare capacity to meet power needs on their end, according to public broadcaster ERR.
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