Finland-Estonia Undersea Power Cable Goes Dark As Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker Investigated

Update (0828ET):

Bloomberg reports that Finnish authorities boarded the crude oil tanker named Eagle S. after a 658-megawatt Estlink 2 power interconnector and several data cables were disrupted.

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The Estlink 2 electricity cable connecting Finland and Estonia was disrupted on Christmas Day, sparking concerns of another potential undersea cable sabotage incident in the Baltic region.

The Financial Times reports that Finnish authorities are investigating a crude oil tanker named Eagle S. The tanker flies the Cook Islands flag and is reportedly part of Russia’s so-called „dark fleet.”

Data from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic shows the vessel slowed down at the time the 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power interconnector was disrupted. The tanker was transiting the Baltics on its way from St. Petersburg to Egypt.

The sources also indicated that Eagle S is under investigation for its possible role in severing three communications cables in the Gulf of Finland.

The vessel movement of Eagle S is very irregular and corresponds with the location and time of the damage to the Estlink 2 cables. pic.twitter.com/IpEUq13n3k

— Kamsarmax (@cashsarmax) December 25, 2024

MarineTraffic data also shows the Finnish Border Guard’s patrol vessel Turva escorted the tanker to waters off Porkkalaniemi, a peninsula on the Gulf of Finland, on Wednesday night.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo wrote on X that authorities were investigating the incident.

Orpo noted, „The interruption of the transmission connection will not affect the electricity supply of Finns.”

Estonian public broadcaster ERR noted no power losses to citizens in either Estonia or Finland. The outlet cited local power officials who said enough spare capacity was on the grid to meet demand and avoid blackouts.

The Baltic Sea area has been on high alert for potential sabotage. Last month, a Chinese vessel was suspected of sabotaging the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock.

Other headlines…

On Wednseday, Russian news agency RIA said the owners of the Russian cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea said the explosions in the vessel’s engine room were an „act of terrorism.”

Also, Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243 crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau on Christmas Day. There’s speculation the Embraer ERJ-190’s vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, and elevators were possibly damaged by „shrapnel” before the crash.