Cut by anchor

Two data cables in the Baltic Sea repaired after sabotage

A Finnish Coast Guard vessel (right) stands guard at the Eagle S oil tanker anchored near the port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo on the Gulf of Finland.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Lehtikuva/Jussi Nukari)

Following suspected sabotage, two telecommunications cables running between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea have been repaired, according to Finnish operator Elisa. "The repairs took place today," the company's safety officer, Jaakko Wallenius, told the AFP news agency on Monday. The cables had apparently been severed by an anchor.

A total of four telecommunications cables and one power cable were damaged in the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day. The Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia has not yet been repaired. A telecommunications cable belonging to the Finnish operator Cinia between Finland and Germany is due to be repaired by January 10, while nothing is yet known about the repair of the fourth cable belonging to the operator Citic, also between Finland and Estonia.

The Finnish authorities suspect that the anchor of the oil tanker "Eagle S", which was launched from St. Petersburg in Russia, damaged the cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Finland therefore stopped the tanker, escorted it into Finnish waters and confiscated it. Eight crew members are not allowed to leave Finland for the time being.

Experts: part of Russia's hybrid war
According to Elisa security officer Wallenius, there is "compelling evidence" of the presence of the "Eagle S" at the scene of the incident. However, he added that it was up to the law enforcement authorities to determine who was responsible.

According to the Finnish customs authority, the oil tanker sailing under the Cook Islands flag is part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which Moscow is using to circumvent the oil embargo imposed two years ago in the wake of the war in Ukraine. For the shadow fleet, Russia uses tankers sailing under a foreign flag to export crude oil and oil products regardless of international sanctions.

The incident occurred only around a month after two telecommunications cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea. In that case, a Chinese freighter came under suspicion. Experts and politicians described the damage to vital infrastructure as part of a hybrid war being waged by Russia against Western countries that support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's war of aggression.