Finnish law enforcement officers have stopped the Eagle S vessel, which may be involved in damaging the submarine cable between Finland and Estonia and may belong to Russiaʼs shadow fleet.
This is reported by the Finnish broadcaster Yle.
The Eagle S, anchored in the Gulf of Finland, was en route from Russia to Egypt from the port of Ust-Luga. Monitoring data shows that the ship slowed down significantly around the time the cable broke. Police are investigating the incident as vandalism. It is believed that the cable broke due to the anchor that the ship was dragging along the seabed.
According to customs, the ship belongs to the Russian shadow fleet and is involved in evading sanctions. The Eagle S is the only ship owned by Caravella from the United Arab Emirates. It is approximately 20 years old and in poor condition, posing a safety and environmental risk.
Caravella describes itself on its website as a “reliable international supplier specializing in oil and gas transportation.” However, the website does not list the services or equipment it provides.
Russiaʼs shadow fleet
Russia’s shadow fleet helps it circumvent the G7 oil price ceiling and sanctions. The ships of the shadow fleet have no direct connection to Russia, and their ownership is hidden around the world through complex mechanisms.
The UK believes that Russiaʼs shadow fleet consists of almost 600 vessels and represents approximately 10% of the worldʼs "wet cargo" fleet.
Russiaʼs shadow fleet transports an estimated 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, generating huge profits for the Kremlin. In 2023, Russia earned $188 billion from oil exports.
What preceded this
On November 18, 2024, it became known that an underwater telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany had been broken. It runs alongside other important underwater infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power cables.
Lithuania later reported a break in a communications cable between their country and Sweden. Both incidents came just weeks after the US detected increased Russian military activity around major undersea cables. Germany believes the incidents were sabotage and a hybrid attack.
The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, wrote that the crew of the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is suspected of severing communication cables in the Baltic Sea. Investigators believe that the crew may have intentionally severed two important data transmission cables while dragging an anchor along the bottom of the Baltic Sea for more than 160 kilometers.
The Yi Peng 3 has a two-man crew: a Chinese captain and a Russian sailor. European investigations are now focused on whether the Chinese captain was recruited by Russian intelligence. Law enforcement officials say it is “extremely unlikely” that the captain did not see the dropped anchor, which slowed the ship for hours and tore cables in its path.