Sabotage of a cable in the Baltic: seven sailors from the Russian “ghost fleet” suspected and banned from traveling

The investigation is progressing. Seven members of the crew of the Eagle S tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet” and of being the cause of a breakdown on a submarine cable in the Baltic Sea are targeted by the investigation for sabotage and are banned from traveling, Finnish police announced Tuesday.

“Seven members of the crew of the ship Eagle S have the status of suspects in this criminal investigation and have been subject to a travel ban,” explains the police in a press release concerning this investigation opened for aggravated sabotage and aggravated interference in the communications.

The Eagle S, flying the flag of the Cook Islands, is suspected of having damaged the EstLink 2 submarine electric cable linking Finland to Estonia in the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day. The ship was boarded then moved under escort to the harbor of the port of Kilpilahti, 40 kilometers east of Helsinki where investigators inspected it and questioned its crew of around twenty members.

Maybe more suspects

Regarding the seven suspects, “the travel ban is a less severe coercive measure limiting individual freedom than arrest, and it is imposed to ensure that the criminal investigation is not compromised and that the parties can be joined during the investigation,” said an investigation official, Elina Katajamäki, of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) quoted in the press release.

The Eagle S is suspected of belonging to the Russian “ghost fleet”, a term for ships that transport embargoed Russian crude oil and petroleum products. NATO announced on Friday that it would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea. Many similar incidents have taken place in the Baltic since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Hybrid war” between Russia and the West

These actions, targeting in particular energy and communication infrastructures, are part, underline experts and political leaders, in the context of the “hybrid war” between Russia and Western countries, in this vast maritime area bordered by several members of the NATO, where Moscow also has entry points.

Two telecommunications cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters. A Chinese-flagged bulk carrier, the Yi Peng 3 – which was over the area when this happened and has since left the area – has been in Stockholm’s sights.

The European Union had indicated that in the face of this it was strengthening measures to “protect submarine cables, in particular by improving the exchange of information, by implementing new detection technologies as well as repair capabilities under -navy and cooperating at the international level.”