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Mint
a day ago
- Politics
- Mint
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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 kilometers 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. Advertisement '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 long and is located at a depth of 90 meters at its deepest point, across one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe. Advertisement 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. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
HELSINKI (AP) — 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 kilometers (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 kilometers) long and is located at a depth of 90 meters (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.
a day ago
- Politics
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
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 kilometers (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 kilometers) long and is located at a depth of 90 meters (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.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
HELSINKI (AP) — 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 kilometers (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. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. '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 kilometers) long and is located at a depth of 90 meters (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.
Time of India
a day ago
- 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.
