Member of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet sabotages european undersea cable

As expected, NATO’s failure to respond to any element of Russia’s ongoing global terror binge has only lead to yet more global terror. The Finnish Border Guard are investigating damage to the Estlink 2 power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, which was disconnected on Christmas Day. A press conference on the incident is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.

The cable failure was first reported by Fingrid, Finland’s transmission grid operator, on the afternoon of December 25. According to Fingrid’s control room manager, Arto Pahkin, two vessels were detected above the cable at the time of the disruption. While the exact cause of the damage remains unclear, authorities are exploring the possibility of terrorism, vandalism, or accidental interference.

Divers and specialized equipment are currently being used to retrieve the damaged cable and pull it ashore near Nikuviiken for closer inspection.

One of the vessels under scrutiny is the oil tanker Eagle S, flagged to the Cook Islands and linked to the so-called “dark fleet” that transports Russian oil. Data from the Marinetraffic tracking service shows the tanker slowed significantly as it crossed the cable area. Shortly after the incident, the Border Guard patrol ship Turva escorted the Eagle S off the coast of Porkkala. Both vessels were observed in the same area into the morning of Boxing Day.

According to Lloyd’s List, a British maritime publication, the Eagle S is a 20-year-old tanker owned by the UAE-based Caravella company. The publication describes the “dark fleet” as a collection of aging vessels engaged in transporting oil from countries under sanctions, often using deceptive practices. The Eagle S has previously been flagged as a safety and environmental risk.

Social media users have also speculated about the ship’s movements, noting that it reduced its speed just minutes before crossing over the submarine cable. However, attention has also been drawn to a second vessel, the Hong Kong-flagged Xin Xin Tian 2, which reportedly passed over the cable eight minutes prior to the outage.

 Today’s press conference is expected to provide updates on the situation and the progress of recovery operations.