MADRID 28 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Finnish authorities have detained the tanker ‘Eagle S’, which could be responsible for the damage suffered by the EstLink 2 submarine cable, an electricity cable that connects Finland with Estonia.
The ship was transferred this Saturday from Porkkala to Porvoo to facilitate the open investigation, according to Finnish public television, YLE.
Helsinki Police Superintendent Heikki Porola confirmed the arrival of the tanker in Porvoo around 4:00 p.m. as planned.
“The captain and crew of the ship have remained on board and active during the transfer. Once anchored we will resume the investigation focusing on whether it was this ship that caused the damage,” Porola told YLE.
Porola has highlighted that the quick intervention of the Finnish authorities during the incident, which occurred on Christmas Day, prevented more significant damage affecting the Estlink 1 cable or the Balticconnector gas pipeline.
The Estlink 2 cable between Estonia and Finland was disrupted on Wednesday in what Finnish authorities suspect may have been an act of sabotage. After the incident, they detained the oil tanker ‘Eagle S’, flying the Cook Islands flag, and whose anchor is believed to have damaged the cable.
According to the EU, the ship could belong to what is known as Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’: oil tankers and other cargo ships used by Russia unofficially to avoid sanctions on the transport of oil, for example.