Finland Nears Completion of Criminal Investigation as Cable Repairs Proceed

 

Finnish authorities have nearly completed the nearly six-month criminal investigation into the damage to the subsea power cable believed to have been caused by a shadow fleet tanker while the national energy company reports progress on repairing the cables. The Helsinki Times reported last week that Finnish grid operator Fingrid expects to spend between €50 and €60 million ($57 to $68 million) on repairs to the Estlink2 power cable running between Finland and Estonia.

“The repair is highly complex,” Fingrid’s Head of Submarine Cable Operations Kimmo Nepola told the Helsinki Times. He said about a kilometer (nearly two-thirds of a mile) of damaged cable must be replaced. 

The cable was damaged on December 25 and the authorities quickly linked the interruptions to the shadow fleet tanker Eagle S (74,000 dwt) registered in the Cook Islands. The police reported that one of the vessel’s anchors was missing and later recovered from the sea floor. It was believed the tanker dragged the anchor for up to 50 miles. The vessel was detained with reports that 32 deficiencies were found during a port state inspection. The vessel was finally released and escorted out of Finnish waters on March 2.

Initially, eight crewmembers were ordered to remain in Finland. Five were released with the vessel while three continued to be suspects in the incident.

The Chief Inspector for the National Bureau of Investigation, Risto Lohi, told the Helsinki Times that three individuals remain as suspects. The report says the investigation is in its final stages. A statement is expected to be delivered to prosecutors shortly.

Fingrid reports a repair vessel has been operational in the Gulf of Finland since mid-May. It says the weather has been favorable for the work but vessel traffic makes it a more complicated operation. They aim to restore power transmission on the cable by mid-July.

The incident raised international awareness of the threat to key undersea infrastructure and contributed to new efforts to monitor and protect critical cables. Scandinavian and Baltic countries increased their patrols and later won an agreement from the European Union to contribute to the efforts. Despite that, there have been several additional incidents where the authorities feared undersea cables were being targeted.

The crude oil tanker Eagle S was among the vessels added as sanctions have been increased on the shadow fleet. The increase in sanctions and efforts to inspect vessels operating in the Baltic has contributed to increased tensions and recent reports that the Russian Navy has begun escorting shadow fleet tankers in the Baltic.