Latest news with #GulfOfFinland
National Post
11-08-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Finland charges ship captain over Baltic cable sabotage
In this file photo taken on Dec. 28, 2024, off Porkkalanniemi, Kirkkonummi, in the Gulf of Finland, Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S is pictured next to Finnish border guard ship Uisko. Photo by Jussi Nukari / AFP Helsinki — The captain and two senior officers of a ship believed to belong to Russia's so-called shadow fleet have been charged with sabotage for cutting five Baltic Sea cables in December, Finnish prosecutors said Monday. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The crew members of the Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S were alleged to have dragged the ship's anchor on the seabed for around 90 kilometres, damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland. They have been charged with 'aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications,' the office of Finland's Deputy Prosecutor General said in a statement. Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The office did not disclose the nationalities of the accused, but Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe told AFP many of the crew had been Indian and Georgian nationals. The criminal investigation was launched after the EstLink 2 submarine power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged on Dec. 25. 'The owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least 60 million euros (US$70 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone,' the statement said. The Eagle S is believed to belong to the Russian shadow fleet — old tankers used to skirt restrictions on Russian oil exports. The disruption 'is also suspected to have caused a serious risk to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland,' according to the statement. Having denied the offences during the investigation, the defendants — who are currently banned from leaving Finland — have argued that Finland has no jurisdiction in the case, because the cuts took place outside Finnish territorial waters. But according to Rappe, since the cable cuts 'seriously endangered important functions of society,' Finnish jurisdiction applies in the case. 'Considering that these are cables with extremely high capacity, the danger was obvious,' he said. 'So the act can be considered to have been committed in Finland, even though the cable was cut outside Finnish territory.' According to Rappe, a trial should begin within two weeks. Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe in September 2022, the cause of which has yet to be determined. In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NATO testing Baltic Sea drones to track Russian warships, freighters
MILAN — U.S.-based Saildrone deployed a handful of unmanned surface vessels as part of NATO's Task Force X demonstration in the Baltic Sea, which helped detect and track Russian shadow-fleet vessels operating in the area, according to the company. Launched last year, Task Force X is led by NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and seeks to accelerate the acquisition, development and integration of uncrewed maritime systems into naval operations. The alliance's top transformation branch hosted its second operational demonstration in June, where over 60 American and French-made uncrewed systems were stress-tested to assess their effectiveness against conditions on the Baltic Sea. Among the platforms deployed were four Voyagers, Saildrone's ten-meter USVs, which operated in the Gulf of Finland and the western Baltic Sea. 'Saildrone Voyagers detected and tracked hundreds of vessels daily and successfully identified the exercises' 'red forces' and identified real-world dark targets in the area, including Russian shadow-fleet and military vessels,' a company press release said. Some of the environmental challenges the drone boats had to navigate were continued operations during strong winds and rough seas with waves over 2 meters (6.5 feet). Over the last few months, European countries have ramped up sanctions targeting Russia's fleet of outdated and often uninsured tankers, known as the shadow fleet, used to evade Western bans and export oil. A report published by the Brookings think tank in April found that Russia has steadily increased the number of oil tankers part of its shadow fleet since 2022, with over 40% of new ships sold by European Union sellers. In the last three years, Russia has added approximately seven new vessels per month to its covert group, which now stands at around 343 vessels. Saildrone offers governments a so-called contractor-owned and -operated deal, which means that any data provided to the customer is delivered as a service. In the case of the NATO demonstration, the information gathered by the USVs was integrated into the participants' common operating picture and accessed through the Saildrone mission portal, made available to the alliance's Maritime Command. A similar trial was organized in February through the Task Force X initiative near Danish waters in the Balti Sea, where manned and unmanned assets were integrated into live-firing events and tactical maneuvers. According to a recent command statement, ACT has focused its efforts on engaging with manufacturers to 'bypass bureaucratic delays' and adopt commercially available off-the-shelf systems when needed in order to speed up the formation of the task force. Individual countries participating in the initiative, including Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Norway and the United Kingdom, will launch national variants modeled after the Task Force X Baltic framework to boost regional defense innovation.
CTV News
14-06-2025
- CTV News
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
The Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S is anchored near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo on the Gulf of Finland, Dec. 30, 2024. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP, File) HELSINKI — Finnish authorities have accused senior officers of a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables last year between Finland and Estonia of criminal offenses related to the wreckage. They say the oil tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor to damage the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25. The Kremlin previously denied involvement in damaging the infrastructure, which provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans. The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but has been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance. Russia's use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage. For the West, the incidents are a test of resolve in the face of what are believed to be widespread sabotage attacks in Europe allegedly linked to Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Eagle S was carrying 35,000 tons of oil and investigators allege it left a drag trail with its anchor for almost 100 kilometres (62 miles) on the sea bed before it was stopped and escorted to the vicinity of a Finnish port. The senior officers, whose names were not made public, were the master, the chief mate and the second mate, Finnish police said in a statement Friday. The trio was responsible for the safe passage, navigation and operation of the tanker and are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications. 'The criminal investigation has examined and assessed, among other things, the extent of their responsibility for the condition of the vessel and the degree to which they should have observed the anchor falling into the sea,' said Detective Chief Inspector Sami Liimatainen, who is leading the case for the National Bureau of Investigation. The investigators' findings have been referred to Finnish prosecutors for possible charges. The damage to the Estlink 2, which can provide about half of the electricity needs for Estonia in winter, did not disrupt service, although it did drive up energy prices in the Baltic nations. The cable is about 90 miles (145 kilometres) long and is located at a depth of 90 metres (295 feet) at its deepest point, across one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe. The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross the sea link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries, promote trade, energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources. The Associated Press
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Cook Islands questions removal from global shipping database
Oil tanker Eagle S is anchored near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo, on the Gulf of Finland, 30 December, 2024. The Cook Islands-registered ship is suspected of the disruption of the Finland-Estonia electrical link. Photo: JUSSI NUKARI / AFP The Cook Islands is seeking clarification on why it was removed from an international shipping database aimed at combating illicit shipping activities. Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) staff were told in May that it was removed from the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) due to a "potential violation of the Terms and Conditions that was agreed upon at the time of registration". "MCI reached out to the founding members of RISC on 8 May 2025 and again on 13 May and again on 21 May. MCI has not had a response from any of them," a statement from MCI said. "MCI is at a loss to understand what possible violation has been committed." The Cook Islands ejection from the information-sharing database was first reported by shipping media Lloyd's List on 20 May. However, the Cook Islans maintains that it does not allow any sanctioned vessels to remain on its register, and has not registered vessels that had been flagged by a RISC member. "There were no 'terms and conditions' discussed or agreed to at the time that MCI joined RISC." RISC was formed in 2019 by the world's three largest ship registries: Liberia, the Marshal Islands and Panama. The membership now includes Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Honduras, Vanuatu, Dominica, Belize, Moldova and Antigua and Barbuda. The database allows registries to share details about vessels and avoid clamp down on "flag hopping" - where a vessel jumps from one registry to another to avoid international sanctions. MCI's statement said the Cook Islands registry was among the first to join after the founding members in May 2020. "MCI supports the aims and objectives of RISC," the statement said. It said that in March, during the Cook Islands International Maritime Organisation Legal Committee, the country "highlighted the RISC compact as an industry best practice". The Cook Islands-registered ship, Eagle S, was seized on Christmas Day 2024 in the Baltic Sea by Finnish authorities. Photo: AFP / Jussi Nukari The Cook Islands-registered ship, Eagle S , was seized on Christmas Day 2024 in the Baltic Sea by Finnish authorities, who believed the vessel severed the Estlink 2 submarine cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia. Eagle S is also thought to be linked to Russia's shadow fleet, which seeks to evade sanctions on the sale of Russian oil. Last month, both the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Cook Islands said that the ship has never been under sanctions.
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Finland Summons Russia's Ambassador After Violation of Airspace
Finland summoned the Russian ambassador to provide an explanation for a recent suspected violation of airspace. The Foreign Ministry announced the summons in a post on X on Monday. Two Russian military aircraft were suspected to have flown without permission in Finnish airspace on the Gulf of Finland on Friday, the government said separately, without providing details. The Border Guard is investigating the incident.
