The European Commission will propose new sanctions against Russiaʼs shadow fleet after a cable between Finland and Estonia was cut, in which a ship is suspected of helping Moscow circumvent oil price caps.
This is stated in a joint statement by the European Commission and its Vice-President Kaia Kallas.
"We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europeʼs critical infrastructure. The suspect vessel is part of Russiaʼs shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment while funding Russiaʼs military budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, against this fleet," the statement stressed.
The European Union will also strengthen the protection of submarine cables, improve information exchange, and involve new monitoring technologies and underwater repair capabilities.
The European Commission thanked the Finnish authorities for their swift action in investigating the cable break and said it was cooperating with Helsinki.
What happened
On the afternoon of December 25, an underwater power cable connecting Finland and Estonia broke in the Baltic Sea. Finnish police suspect that the vessel Eagle S, which was en route from Russia to Egypt, was involved. It slowed down significantly when the cable broke. It is believed that the cable broke due to an anchor that the vessel was dragging along the seabed.
The Eagle S belongs to the Russian shadow fleet, although it is owned by the United Arab Emirates-based Caravella. The vessel is approximately 20 years old and in poor condition, posing a safety and environmental risk.
What preceded
An undersea telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany, which runs alongside other important undersea infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power cables, was severed on November 18, 2024. A cable between Lithuania and Sweden was also reported to have been severed. Both incidents came just weeks after the United States detected increased Russian military activity around major undersea cables.
Germany immediately declared that these 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 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 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.
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.
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