Finland Claims Seized Vessel Was Intent on Cutting Undersea Cables

What Happened?

President Alexander Stubb of Finland issued a statement on Tuesday that Finnish authorities had stopped the crew of a Russia-linked oil tanker just moments before it could have caused catastrophic damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

He said, ‘Had it continued for another 12 minutes, the carnage would have been much worse than the four basic cables that were there.’

The tanker, the Eagle S, was seized in late December as Finland assessed recent damage to the Estlink-2 power line, one of two vital cables carrying electricity in the Baltic Sea.

Why it Matters

Matthew Low of Business Insider reported:

‘The Finnish head of the investigation, Risto Lohi, told Reuters on Tuesday that the Eagle S would likely also have attempted sabotage on the other power cable, the Estlink-1, had police not boarded the vessel. There would have been an almost immediate danger that other cables or pipes related to our critical underwater infrastructure could have been damaged, said Lohi, who is the chief of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation. On Tuesday, Stubb said that Finland's security process for protecting the cables started with the private company overseeing them. If a cable is severed, the firm would alert the authorities, who then try to find possible ships around the location of the damage.’

Previously Finnish authorities had used a more reactive approach to investigating by taking action against vessels believed to be involved in sabotaging undersea cables or other critical infrastructure only after damage had been done.

In the past Finnish security forces would wait to be notified of damage by private companies owning the infrastructure in question before searching for possible ships in the vicinity which might be responsible.

But now Finland and NATO will employ a more proactive approach.

NATO recently launched Operation Baltic Sentry, which will use naval ships, drones, manned and unmanned aircraft to patrol areas containing critical infrastructure. The aims is to deter any potential action malicious vessels might take and prevent damage before it occurs.

Though Finland has accused the Eagle S of attempting to cut undersea cables, Finnish authorities have not released any new evidence that ties the ship directly to Russia. To date the only link to Russia is the fuel the ship was carrying, which had been loaded in Russian ports.

How it Affects You

Russian authorities have been downplaying the Finnish seizure of Eagle-S. They have denied any involvement in efforts to cut undersea cables or damage critical infrastructure in the Baltic.

But with the ship in Finnish hands and several members of the crew being detained in Finland, if there is direct evidence of Russian involvement this could be a prime opportunity to find it.