Suspicion of Russian sabotage in damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea

baltic sea - Estlink 2, a power connection between Finland and Estonia, experienced a sudden outage on Christmas Day. Authorities suspect sabotage by a Russian oil tanker.

Estlink 2, which has been in operation since 2014, connects the power networks of Scandinavia with those of the Baltic states through the bottom of the Baltic Sea along with Estlink 1. Negotiations for a power connection between southern Finland and northern Estonia began in the 1990s. Plans for a third connection, Estlink 3, are currently being developed and expected to be operational by 2035.

A malfunction occurred on Wednesday afternoon, reducing the power capacity by two-thirds due to severe damage to the undersea cables. The director of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation labeled it as 'serious sabotage' and the oil tanker Eagle S is a suspect. Finnish coast guards have seized the tanker for further investigation. It is suspected that the ship damaged the cables with its anchor.

The oil tanker, sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands, departed from St. Petersburg and was headed to Port Said in Egypt. Finnish authorities believe that Eagle S is part of Russia's shadow fleet of old oil tankers used to circumvent sanctions.

Previously, in November, two data cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged, one between Finland and Germany and the other between Sweden and Lithuania. The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3 is suspected of being involved, having departed from a Russian port. The ship was detained by Danish and Swedish authorities for inspection, but due to China's refusal, it was allowed to depart. In September 2022, Nord Stream pipelines transporting gas from Russia to Germany were damaged, allegedly by a group of experienced Ukrainian deep-sea divers.