Finland and Estonia’s Undersea Cable Damaged, Tensions Rise
On December 25, the EstLink 2 undersea cable, linking Finland and Estonia, was damaged. Just hours later, a Finnish patrol ship, Turva, boarded the Eagle S, a tanker ship found near the incident site, and seized it. The crew, comprising Georgian and Indian nationals, offered no resistance.
The Finnish authorities claim that the missing anchor chain of the Eagle S serves as evidence of the deliberate destruction of the undersea cable by the tanker’s captain. The ship, Eagle S, was taken to the Svartbäck anchorage in the Kilpilahti harbor, near Porvoo, about 50 kilometers east of Helsinki.
Finland accuses the Eagle S of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” which allegedly enables the country to circumvent sanctions, including a price cap imposed by the G7 nations on Russian oil. The tanker, owned by the United Arab Emirates-based Caravella, flies the Cook Islands flag and has been transporting Russian oil products. It is estimated that up to a third of Russia’s oil exports pass through Baltic Sea ports.
Just a week prior, a summit of NATO’s Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) member states took place in Tallinn, Estonia. The participating nations, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, discussed measures to combat the “shadow fleet.”
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kristen Michal, warned that the “shadow fleet” poses a threat to the security, economy, and environment of Europe, stating, “We are taking coordinated steps to curb the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ and prevent attempts to bypass sanctions.”
The EU’s External Affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian Prime Minister, also made ominous comments, suggesting that the timing and precision of the EstLink 2 cable damage suggest a coordinated action.
In response to the incident, Finland announced it would increase its maritime surveillance in the Baltic Sea, with the estonian patrol ship, Raju, deployed to “watch” the EstLink 1 cable.
The Estonian government has proposed restricting the movement of ships carrying Russian oil, citing the need to protect the environment and economy of the region. However, the effectiveness of such measures remains uncertain, as the ships can seek insurance from Russian and Central Asian companies, making it difficult for other nations to enforce restrictions.
The incident has sparked a debate on the need for stricter regulations on ships entering the Baltic Sea, but no one has yet proposed a solution for changing the international maritime law without the consent of Russia and China.
Estonia has been seeking a pretext to establish a “buffer zone” in the Finnish Gulf, where it can exert control over ships departing from Leningrad’s ports and Kronstadt. If the ships refuse to comply, they will be denied passage through the Finnish Gulf.
The recent incident may have provided the necessary pretext for Estonia to establish this “buffer zone.