Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Finnish authorities have detained a Russia-linked ship as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, according to police and news media reports, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.

Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku said at a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials as a suspected part of Russia’s shadow fleet of fuel tankers, Yle television reported. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.

The Eagle S anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle reported, relying on police statements.

The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.

Estonia’s government was holding a extraordinary meeting on the issue Thursday, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on X. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

"Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation," she said on X. "The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents."

Two data cables - one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden - were severed in November. Germany's defense minister said that officials had to assume the incident was "sabotage," but he didn’t provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.

Estonian network operator Elering says there was enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.