Latest news with #Gulf of Finland
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- The Guardian
Finland charges tanker crew members with sabotage of undersea cables
Finnish authorities have filed charges against members of the crew of an oil tanker suspected of damaging five undersea cables by dragging its anchor between Finland and Estonia. Finland's deputy prosecutor general's office said on Monday it had filed charges of aggravated sabotage and aggravated interference with telecommunications against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S. The Cook Islands-registered tanker is understood to be part of Russia's 'shadow fleet' – comprising vessels that sail under foreign flags to evade sanctions. The ship was carrying oil from Ust-Luga in Russia across the Gulf of Finland when, prosecutors allege, it dragged its anchor along the seabed for about 90km (56 miles) in December 2024. The incident was one of several suspected hybrid attacks on telecommunications services in the Nordic region at the end of last year, putting leaders on high alert and prompting accusations of infrastructure sabotage against Russia. Finnish authorities seized the Eagle S on 26 December last year when the border guard's emergency response team and police landed on the ship in the early hours of the morning. The seizure was lifted in February and the ship left Finland the following month. Damage to the cables had cost their owners, Cinia and Elisa, 'at least €60m in repair costs alone', the office of the deputy prosecutor general, Jukka Rappe, said in a statement. It added: 'The rupture of the extremely high-capacity electricity transmission and telecommunications cables is also suspected of having caused a serious danger to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services have been secured by using alternative connections.' The defendants, it said, had denied any wrongdoing in the preliminary investigation. They believed that Finland 'does not have jurisdiction in the matter because the cable damage sites are outside Finnish territorial waters', the statement said. A lawyer for the United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, has said previously that Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene. Rappe disagreed, saying: 'The characteristics of the crimes,ie the dangers caused, occurred within the borders of Finland, even though the measures themselves were taken outside Finland.' He told the Guardian that the question of jurisdiction was 'one of the critical questions', but that 'the effects of the crime materialised here in Finland. That brings it to the jurisdiction of Finland, I think. But of course it is up to [the] district court to decide whether Finland has jurisdiction or not.' He said he hoped the trial would have an impact on investigations into other alleged cable-cutting incidents in the region over the last two years. Because of its geographical positioning, between Russia and the Baltic, Finland is particularly vulnerable. 'Finland is like an island because of the Baltic sea. All of our connections go via undersea cables to Sweden, Estonia and central Europe,' said Rappe. The indictment has been filed with the Helsinki district court, which will decide on a date for the hearing. The state prosecutor, special prosecutor and regional prosecutor have been assigned to prosecute the charges in court. The three suspects have been under a travel ban in Finland since the start of the investigation. Cinia and Elisa declined to comment.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Finland charges Eagle S tanker captain, officers over cable cuts
Finland 's national prosecutor's office said on Monday it had brought charges against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker over the cutting of undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland in December . The Georgian and Indian nationals are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications by dragging the ship's anchor for around 90km (56 miles) across the seabed, a prosecutors' statement said. The defendants, who are not permitted to leave Finland, have denied committing the offences and consider that Finland also lacks jurisdiction in the case as the incident took place outside Finnish territorial waters, it said. Finnish authorities have said the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S broke the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia , as well as four internet lines. 'The owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least €60 million ($70 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone,' the prosecutors' office said. READ MORE 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. [ 'Almost impossible' for Irish people to understand Baltic fear of Russian invasion, says ex-MEP Opens in new window ] The Eagle S disruption caused serious risks to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services were secured via alternative connections, the prosecutors' statement said. A lawyer for United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, has previously said Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene in the case. The lawyer for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The prosecutors' office said a local court would set a date for hearing the case and, if necessary, determine whether it falls under Finnish jurisdiction. – Reuters
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Finland charges Eagle S tanker captain, officers over cable cuts
HELSINKI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Finland's national prosecutor's office said on Monday it had brought charges against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker over the cutting of undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland in December. The Georgian and Indian nationals are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications by dragging the ship's anchor for around 90 km (56 miles) across the seabed, a prosecutors' statement said. The defendants, who are not permitted to leave Finland, have denied committing the offences and consider that Finland also lacks jurisdiction in the case as the incident took place outside Finnish territorial waters, it said. Finnish authorities have said the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S broke the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia as well as four internet lines. "The owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least 60 million euros ($70 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone," the prosecutors' office said. 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. The Eagle S disruption caused serious risks to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services were secured via alternative connections, the prosecutors' statement said. A lawyer for United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, the owner of the Eagle S, has previously said Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene in the case. The lawyer for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The prosecutors' office said a local court would set a date for hearing the case and, if necessary, determine whether it falls under Finnish jurisdiction. ($1 = 0.8590 euros)
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Finland brings charges against Eagle S captain, officers over cable cuts
HELSINKI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Finland's national prosecutor's office said on Monday it has brought charges against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker over the cutting of undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland in December of last year. The three are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications by dragging the ship's anchor for around 90 km (56 miles) across the seabed, a statement by the prosecutor said. "The owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least 60 million euros ($69.85 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone," the statement read. The defendants have denied committing the offences and consider that Finland lacks jurisdiction in the case as the cables were damaged outside Finnish territorial waters, the prosecutor said. ($1 = 0.8590 euros)
