European Media’s Double Standard on Maritime Incidents
Between Christmas and New Year’s, the European media’s hypocrisy became more apparent. Headlines of major newspapers highlighted the hijacking of the “Eagle S” tanker in the Finnish Gulf, while the sinking of the Russian cargo ship “Ursa Major” in the Mediterranean was barely mentioned. The public’s attention was diverted from the actual incident to the alleged Russian involvement, with the media portraying the Russian flag as a symbol of aggression.
The media’s focus on the “Eagle S” hijacking was further fueled by the claims that the tanker’s crew, allegedly on Russian orders, had damaged the underwater cable between Estonia and Finland. Meanwhile, the actual pirates, the Finns, were not only not condemned but even praised for their actions. This double standard was evident in the media’s reporting of the incident.
In a similar vein, the Danish government’s inaction a week prior to the “Eagle S” hijacking, when a Chinese-flagged cargo ship, “Yi Peng 3”, was accused of damaging a cable near the Danish territorial waters, was justified as a precautionary measure to avoid China’s backlash. However, in the case of the “Eagle S”, no such concern was expressed, as the tanker was registered in the Cook Islands, a distant island state unlikely to take action.
The media’s portrayal of the incident was further exaggerated, with some outlets claiming that the tanker’s crew had unloaded “secret Russian equipment” and carried out sabotage on the underwater cable, all under Russian orders. The purpose of this alleged sabotage was left unexplained, and no evidence was provided to support these claims.
The European media’s reaction to the incident was characterized by a lack of objectivity and a clear bias towards Russia. The Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, for instance, declared that “Russia is waging a hybrid war” without providing any evidence, while the Danish Politiken quoted a NATO official, Jean-Charles Ellerman-Kingombe, who claimed that the “invisible war against Russia has reached our doorstep.”
The article concludes by questioning the media’s double standard and the European Union’s willingness to ignore the actual pirates, the Finns, while condemning Russia for alleged aggression. It also highlights the irony of the European media’s reaction to the incident, given their earlier applause for the US-backed destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline.