Oil tanker crew planned more cable sabotage before capture, Finland says

Finnish investigators say the crew of an oil tanker accused of damaging undersea power and communication cables in the Baltic Sea were preparing to cut additional infrastructure before authorities intervened, according to Reuters.

Last month, Finnish authorities boarded an oil tanker Eagle S, allegedly part of Moscow’s so-called "shadow fleet."

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic Sea region has faced numerous disruptions to power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines. NATO member states surrounding the Baltic Sea are scheduled to meet in Helsinki on Jan. 14 to discuss collective measures against such threats.

The Eagle S allegedly caused damage to the Estlink 2 power line and four telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia by dragging its anchor over 100 kilometers along the seabed.

Risto Lohi, head of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, said the ship was also at risk of damaging the Estlink 1 power line and the BalticConnector gas pipeline when authorities took action. "There would have been an almost immediate danger that other cables or pipes related to our critical underwater infrastructure could have been damaged," Lohi said.

Authorities are investigating nine of the ship’s crew members, including the Georgian captain and sailors from India and Georgia.

In a separate incident, Baltic Sea nations suspect the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 of dragging its anchor to sever two undersea fiber-optic cables in November.

Sweden's Civil Defense Minister, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, stated that evidence of anchor damage linked to the Yi Peng 3 was also found near the NordBalt power cable, which connects Sweden and Lithuania. "This obviously illustrates the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in," Bohlin reprotedly said.

NATO membership is Ukraine’s best security guarantee, Finland’s FM tells Reuters

“We are supporting Ukraine’s NATO membership further down the line and hopefully not in (the) too-distant future,” Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Jan. 8.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

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