Two cables damaged in December in the Baltic Sea have now been repaired

Two underwater cables between Finland and Estonia that may have been damaged by sabotage in December have now been repaired. AFP reported today, citing Finnish operator Elisa. Finnish authorities detained the oil tanker Eagle S in connection with the incident. They suspect it is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.

„Repairs were completed today,“ Elisa’s head of security, Jaakko Wallenius, told AFP.

Underwater cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged on 25 December. The following day, the Finnish Border Guard boarded the Eagle S and escorted it into Finnish waters. Finnish authorities suspect that the ship’s crew deliberately damaged the cables with an anchor dragged along the seabed. Finnish police suspect seven of the tanker’s approximately 20 crew members of committing the act. The sailors have been barred from leaving the country.

Finnish authorities believe that the ship, which was sailing from Russia under the flag of the Cook Islands, is part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The term refers to vessels that Russia uses unofficially to circumvent sanctions and export, for example, its oil.

Since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, countries along the Baltic Sea have recorded several more incidents involving damage to underwater energy and telecommunications cables, as well as gas pipelines.