Finland releases “Eagle S” ship suspected of severing submarine cables

Finland has lifted the arrest of the tanker “Eagle S”, which was suspected of severing a cable in the Baltic Sea on December 25, 2024.

This was reported by the Helsinki Police Department.

The Finnish National Criminal Police conducted an investigation and found that there were no grounds to continue the arrest of the vessel, so it was allowed to leave Finnish territorial waters.

The Finnish Border Guard is monitoring the departure of the tanker “Eagle S” from Finnish territorial waters, and it is also accompanied by the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard patrol ship Turva.

Transport system operators “Fingrid” and “Elering” also decided not to forcibly arrest the “Eagle S”. The reason is the financial risks associated with the arrest, as maintaining the tanker may be more expensive than the cost of the “Eagle S” itself.

However, “Fingrid” and “Elering” plan to file a lawsuit for damages caused by “Eagle S” and seek compensation in court.

What preceded

On Christmas Day, December 25, the “Estlink 2” submarine power cable between Finland and Estonia broke. Two ships were passing over it at the time of the incident. Finnish police suspect that the “Eagle S”, which was en route from Russia to Egypt, was involved.

On the morning of January 26 , an underwater fiber-optic cable belonging to Latvian Radio (LVRTC) broke in the Baltic Sea.

Norway subsequently arrested the Norwegian vessel Silver Dania, with an all-Russian crew, at Latviaʼs request, on suspicion of involvement in the incident. However, police found no evidence linking the Silver Dania to the cliff and released it.

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