Swedish navy recovers Russian shadow fleet tanker’s anchor in Finnish Gulf cable damage case
The Eagle S tanker is suspected of deliberately damaging underwater cables between Finland and Estonia in late December.
Finnish Police’s National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) reported on 7 January that the anchor of the Eagle S tanker, suspected in damaging undersea communications infrastructure, has been recovered from the Gulf of Finland. The vessel is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, used to avoid the EU and G7 sanctions.
The Swedish Navy vessel HMS Belos retrieved the anchor in an operation coordinated with Finnish authorities, YLE reports. The anchor was found next to drag marks extending several dozens of kilometers on the seabed.
“The anchor’s location was found along Eagle S’s route in the Porkkalanniemi Strait,” KRP Chief Inspector Risto Lohi said in a statement. “The anchor was located at the western end of the drag mark found on the seabed, close to where the drag mark ends.”
Authorities located the anchor position overnight between Sunday and Monday, with the actual recovery taking place on Monday. According to YLE sources, the anchor was retrieved from approximately 80-meter depth.
Police suspect that the Eagle S oil tanker’s anchor severed an electrical cable between Finland and Estonia and damaged four data cables. Eight crew members of Eagle S are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications.
Related:
- NATO boosting presence in Baltic Sea after Russia damaged cable, Estonia confirms
- Finnish probe uncovers kilometers-long anchor drag marks in Baltic cable damage
- German FM calls for more Russian shadow fleet sanctions after Baltic cable damage
- Russia’s navy-escorted tanker targets Bundeswehr helicopter with warning flares in Baltic
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