Latest news with #Estlink2
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Time of India
Finland completes probe into Baltic Sea cable damage, suspects tanker crew
COPENHAGEN: Finnish prosecutors are considering pressing charges against three senior officers of an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in December, police and the prosecutor said on Friday. Finnish authorities suspect the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S of having broken the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia as well as four internet lines last December by dragging its anchor across the seabed. Finland's National Bureau of Investigation concluded its investigation into the damage on Friday and said in a statement it suspected three senior officers of the Eagle S of aggravated criminal mischief and interference with telecommunications. The head of the police investigation, Sami Liimatainen, told Reuters all three crew denied any wrongdoing. The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert for sabotage after a string of outages of power cables, gas pipelines and telecoms, although subsea infrastructure is also subject to technical malfunctions and outages caused by accidents. A lawyer for United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, said he could not comment on behalf of the crew as he does not represent them. Reuters was unable to identify legal representatives for the crew. The lawyer has previously said the ship's alleged damage to undersea equipment happened outside of Finland's territorial waters and therefore Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Finland completes probe into Baltic Sea cable damage, suspects tanker crew
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Finnish prosecutors are considering pressing charges against three senior officers of an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in December, police and the prosecutor said on Friday. Finnish authorities suspect the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S of having broken the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia as well as four internet lines last December by dragging its anchor across the seabed. Finland's National Bureau of Investigation concluded its investigation into the damage on Friday and said in a statement it suspected three senior officers of the Eagle S of aggravated criminal mischief and interference with telecommunications. The head of the police investigation, Sami Liimatainen, told Reuters all three crew denied any wrongdoing. The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert for sabotage after a string of outages of power cables, gas pipelines and telecoms, although subsea infrastructure is also subject to technical malfunctions and outages caused by accidents. A lawyer for United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, said he could not comment on behalf of the crew as he does not represent them. Reuters was unable to identify legal representatives for the crew. The lawyer has previously said the ship's alleged damage to undersea equipment happened outside of Finland's territorial waters and therefore Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene.
Straits Times
13-06-2025
- Straits Times
Finland completes probe into Baltic Sea cable damage, suspects tanker crew
COPENHAGEN - Finnish prosecutors are considering pressing charges against three senior officers of an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in December, police and the prosecutor said on Friday. Finnish authorities suspect the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S of having broken the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia as well as four internet lines last December by dragging its anchor across the seabed. Finland's National Bureau of Investigation concluded its investigation into the damage on Friday and said in a statement it suspected three senior officers of the Eagle S of aggravated criminal mischief and interference with telecommunications. The head of the police investigation, Sami Liimatainen, told Reuters all three crew denied any wrongdoing. The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert for sabotage after a string of outages of power cables, gas pipelines and telecoms, although subsea infrastructure is also subject to technical malfunctions and outages caused by accidents. A lawyer for United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, said he could not comment on behalf of the crew as he does not represent them. Reuters was unable to identify legal representatives for the crew. The lawyer has previously said the ship's alleged damage to undersea equipment happened outside of Finland's territorial waters and therefore Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
30-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Damaged Baltic Sea power cable Estlink 2 seen back in operation late June
STOCKHOLM, May 30 (Reuters) - Finnish power grid operator Fingrid said on Friday it expects the Estlink 2 subsea power cable between Finland and Estonia, which was damaged in December, to return to commercial use on June 25, slightly earlier than seen before. Fingrid, which last month predicted the cable would be back in operation on July 15, said in a statement repair work was progressing faster than expected. Finnish authorities in December seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage by dragging its anchor across the power cable as well as four internet lines.
Reuters
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
On the Baltic Sea, Estonian navy prepared to stop vessels
GULF OF FINLAND, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Estonia's navy is prepared to act against vessels that pose a danger to Baltic Sea infrastructure even if they are in international waters, a senior official patrolling the busy Gulf of Finland shipping lane said on Thursday. The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most were caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors. While some of the underwater breaches have been ruled accidental, others are still under investigation although no suspects have so far been put on trial. On a cold morning with snowy weather limiting visibility, the mine hunter the Sakala approached a barge, which had a Cypriot flag but appeared to have a Russian name. From a distance of a few hundred metres, it used a camera to zoom in on the vessel's anchors. On this occasion, nothing wrong was detected, and the navy ship continued patrolling the area through which around 500-600 vessels pass every week, many heading to or from Russian ports. "If there is a threat that they are going to break the critical infrastructure, then we are forced to intervene," Estonian navy Deputy Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa said, adding that this would be the case "even in the international waters". He declined to discuss operational details. The patrols began after Finland in December seized an oil tanker suspected of ripping apart the Estlink 2 undersea power cable by dragging its anchor along the seabed, cutting one of the two electricity lines that connect the country with Estonia. To try to deter any future saboteurs, Estonia has since deployed three vessels near the remaining Estlink 1 cable in the busy Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea that at its eastern end stretches into Russian waters. Moscow has denied any involvement in the cable breaches.
