A little after noon on December 25, an undersea cable between Finland and Estonia was disconnected from the grid. This Eastlink 2 cable winding through the Baltic Sea was carrying electricity: since it was cut, cross-border capacity between the two countries has been reduced to 358 MW, instead of the normal 1016 MW. Suffice to say that the incident is likely to cause serious electricity supply problems in Estonia and Finland.
Acts of sabotage are increasing in the Baltic Sea
The Finnish operator of the transmission system, Fingrid, estimates that the outage will last until next August, the time it takes to carry out repair work. The cause: an oil tanker registered in the Cook Islands, the Eagle S, suspected of having let its anchor drag in order to cut the cables located on the seabed. Finnish authorities intercepted the ship at sea to bring it into territorial waters and conduct their investigation.
The ship’s anchors were missing, so the crew may have used them to damage underwater infrastructure. “An anchor from the ship under investigation caused the damage,” the head of the National Bureau of Investigation said. The ship was carrying Russian oil to Egypt and is believed to be part of the country’s “ghost fleet,” which is estimated to number around 600 vessels.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, Western sanctions have drastically reduced Russia’s energy export capacity. However, the country has found this way around it, allowing it to continue selling its oil to unscrupulous countries — and earning much-needed foreign currency to fund the war in Ukraine. The Eagle S was not among the 79 or so ships registered on the European “blacklist.”
Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president, very clearly accused Russia of this sabotage: “It is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian ghost fleet,” he said, before reminding that Finland had the means to respond to such situations. Nevertheless, international cooperation remains essential. The European Union and NATO quickly agreed to lend a hand.
The story recalls a similar incident from last November, during which two submarine internet cables were also cut in the Baltic Sea, this time by a Chinese ship. An act of sabotage behind which Russia is said to be hiding.
Source: FT
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