Finland searches oil tanker suspected of sabotaging undersea cable in Baltic

MADRID Jan. 2 () –

The Finnish authorities have begun this Thursday to search an oil tanker suspected of having participated in the sabotage of EstLink2, an underwater cable that connects Finnish territory with Estonia and which registered failures on December 25.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) has indicated in a statement that work has begun on board the ship ‘Eagle S’ “without interfering in Police operations.”

The director of the entity, Sanna Sonninen, explained that it is a vessel flying the Cook Islands flag and anchored in the port of Kilpilahti, 40 kilometers from Helsinki, the Finnish capital. The ship is suspected of participating in acts of sabotage and being part of the Russian shadow fleet, made up of ships of great age and anonymous ownership to transport oil despite existing international sanctions.

The Finnish authorities have also begun to interrogate all members of the crew, made up of around twenty people. Since Tuesday, seven of these members have been unable to leave the country while the investigations take place.

The inspection began days after Finnish investigators found suspicious drag marks in the area where EstLink2 is located.

The increase in incidents of this type in the area has led the European Union to implement measures aimed at protecting submarine cables, which includes an improvement in detection and repair technologies, as well as the exchange of information between different countries. .