Russian investigators claim they have discovered a 100km-long seabed trail around an underwater electricity cable damaged on Christmas Day, suspecting Russian sabotage. The damaged cable connects Finland and Estonia, with repairs expected to take months and increase electricity prices in Estonia this winter.
The ship under suspicion, the Eagle S from the Cook Islands, is believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used for transporting oil products subject to embargos after the 2022 Ukraine invasion. The vessel’s crew consisted of Georgian and Indian nationals, but it recently docked in Russia and was carrying Russian oil products.
Investigations suggest that the Eagle S dragged an anchor near the damaged cable, causing significant damage. Estonian officials believe a deliberate attack occurred, with “little doubt” that Russia is behind the incident. The country has been conducting sabotage campaigns against NATO countries over the past two years.
The incident comes as Estonia plans to decouple its power grid from the old Soviet network and join a central European network instead. Tallinn has launched a naval operation to protect the remaining pipeline, with the goal of identifying suspicious ships and responding swiftly to threats. This marks the latest in a series of sabotage incidents involving underwater power and communications cables, including damage to Swedish-Danish fibre-optic cables last month by a Chinese ship.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/finnish-investigators-into-suspected-sabotage-find-100km-trail-on-baltic-sea-bed