Finnish prosecutors charge officers of Russia-linked ship that damaged subsea cables

Finnish prosecutors have brought criminal charges against the captain and two senior officers of a Russia-linked ship, accusing them of damaging undersea cables between Finland and Estonia.

The incident happened on Christmas Day 2024, when the Eagle S is believed to have dragged its anchor to damage the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links.

Monday’s statement from Finnish prosecutors alleges that “the Eagle S, which left Russia’s Ust-Luga with a cargo of oil products, is suspected of cutting five submarine cables in the Gulf of Finland by dragging its anchor on the seabed for about 90 kilometres”.

Prosecutors said the owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least €60 million in repair costs.

“The disruption of electricity transmission and telecommunications cables with very high transmission capacity is also suspected to have caused a serious risk to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services could be secured by using alternative connections,” the statement said.

The Finnish authorities have charged the captain and the first and second officers of the Cook Islands-flagged ship with “aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications”.

The names of the officers were not made public but in a statement the men have denied the allegations, while contesting Finland’s jurisdiction since the incident happened in international waters. Russia had previously denied involvement in damaging the infrastructure.

The Eagle S has been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Commission as part of Russia’s shadow fleet of fuel tankers.

These are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions imposed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.

Within the EU, such incidents are believed to be part of widespread sabotage attacks in Europe allegedly linked to Moscow.

READ ALSO | Experts say the EU is vulnerable to attack on its undersea cables