OSLO (Reuters) – Finnish police said on Sunday they had found lines stretching several kilometers under the Baltic Sea where a Russian oil tanker is suspected to have breached a power line and four anchored telephone lines.
The Cook Islands-registered Eagle S was boarded by Finnish police and coastguard officials on Thursday and entered Finnish waters where the crew of the detained vessel were questioned.
Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after power lines, telephone links and gas pipelines have been cut since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NATO said on Friday it would increase its presence in the region.
The break in the 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia occurred at noon on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 connecting the two countries, grid operators said. They said Estlink 2 may not return to service before August.
Finnish police suspect that Eagle S caused the damage by dragging its anchor into the sea.
Investigators have found a “dragging track” but have not yet found the missing anchor, Sami Paila, technical leader and chief inspector of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, said in a statement.
“The track is many kilometers long,” said Paila.
Images from the Eagle S on Friday showed the ship missing an anchor in the harbor.
Finland’s customs service believes the ship is part of a “shadow fleet” of aging tankers used to evade sanctions on Russian oil exports.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Finland’s seizure of the ship was of little concern.
Russia has denied involvement in any past incidents of damage to Baltic infrastructure.
