2024 Estlink 2 incident
 | This article documents a current maritime incident. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (December 2024) |
Eagle S slowed significantly while passing Estlink 2. Eagle S Patrol vessel Turva | |
| Date | 25 December |
|---|---|
| Location | Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| Cause | Under investigation |
On 25 December 2024 at 12:26 EET, the Estlink 2 submarine power cable had an unplanned failure, reducing the Estonia–Finland cross-border capacity from 1,016 MW to 358 MW.[1] The Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid expects the failure to last until August 2025.[1] At the time of the outage, electricity was flowing from Finland to Estonia at a rate of 658 MW. Concerns about potential sabotage rose due to recent outages in the Baltic Sea region, although subsea cables are also prone to technical malfunctions and accidents. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo confirmed that authorities were investigating the incident.[2]
In the evening of the same day, the authorities were also informed of disruptions to four telecommunications cables leaving Finland, with two cables belonging to the Finnish telecommunications company Elisa being completely severed.[3]
Investigation
The oil tanker Eagle S, registered in the Cook Islands and while not on the list of 79 ships sanctioned by the EU at the time[4] believed to be part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet,[5] is under investigation for its potential involvement in the incident.[6][7] Finnish authorities suspect that the tanker's anchor may have caused the rupture of the cable.[6]
By early evening of 25 December, the Finnish Border Guard's offshore patrol vessel Turva was escorting Eagle S to the Porkkalanniemi peninsula.[7] The anchors were not in place on the vessel, and at 00:28 on the 26th, the Police Rapid Response Unit Karhu and the Special Intervention Unit of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District boarded the ship using two helicopters provided by the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard. The authorities were armed and prepared for resistance, but there was none and the authorities quickly took control of the vessel.[8] The authorities asked Eagle S to raise the anchor, but only the anchor chain rose to the surface. The police took possession of the ship.[9]
The ship's crew, numbering just over 20 members, is made up of Georgian and Indian nationals.[10] According to Sami Rakshit, head of the Finnish Customs, the case is also being investigated for a serious regulatory offense of evasion of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, as the vessel is carrying 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline.[11][12]
As of 27 December 2024[update], Eagle S and Turva were still near Porkkalanniemi.[13] The police confirmed that the tanker is suspected of having caused the failure and that the incident is being investigated as an act of gross vandalism, with a flight ban of three kilometers instated around the area to support the preliminary investigation.[14] Chief of Police of Finland Ilkka Koskimäki said that there had not been any contact with Russia and there were no plans to do so.[15]
Reactions
Estonia's president Alar Karis said on X that "repeated damage to Baltic Sea infrastructure signals a systemic threat, not mere accidents."[16] Prime minister Kristen Michal said at a news conference that the shadow tankers "are helping Russia to earn funds that will aid Russian hybrid attacks,[17] and Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced on public radio that the patrol ship Raju had set sail on 24 December to protect Estlink 1.[18]
Kaja Kallas, the foreign EU minister, stated that the incident was "the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure" and thanked Finnish authorities "for their swift action in boarding the suspected vessel".[19]
Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, discussed the incident with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and stated that NATO intends to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea as a result of the incident.[20]
See also
- 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions
- Balticconnector § 2023 damage incident — natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia damaged a year earlier
References
- ^ a b c "Unavailability of electricity facilities : Transmission". Nord Pool — UMM Platform. Fingrid Oyj. 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Finland investigates outage of undersea power link to Estonia, Finnish PM says". Reuters. 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Neljässä Suomesta lähtevässä tietoliikennekaapelissa häiriöitä – kaksi Elisan kaapelia on kokonaan poikki" [Disturbances in four telecommunications cables leaving Finland – two Elisa cables are completely cut]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/3187 of 16 December 2024 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, 16 December 2024, retrieved 27 December 2024
- ^ a b "'High-risk' dark fleet tanker leaves ABS class as unscheduled survey into condition looms". Lloyd's List. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Finland probes Russia-linked oil tanker over undersea outage". DW. 26 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Estlink cable disruption: Finnish Border Guard detains tanker linked to Russia's 'dark fleet'". Yle News. 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ Sajari, Petri (26 December 2024). "HS:n tiedot: Aseistautuneet valmiusjoukot lähetettiin keskellä yötä Eagle S -alukselle, kun syyttäjä pohti vielä terrorismia" [HS's information: Armed readiness troops were sent to the Eagle S vessel in the middle of the night while the prosecutor was still considering terrorism]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Ankkurit eivät olleet paikallaan" [The anchors were not in place.]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Karvinen, Eevi (27 December 2024). "Poliisi: Eagle S:n miehistö on hämmentynyt – Kansalaisuudet selvisivät" [Police: The crew of Eagle S is confused – Nationalities have been revealed]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Tulli: Alus kuuluu varjolaivastoon" [Customs: The ship belongs to the shadow fleet]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Kallionpää, Katri (27 December 2024). "Eagle S lähti Venäjältä varhain joulupäivänä, ylitti Estlink 2 -kaapelin ja teki kiepin – video näyttää aluksen reitin" [Eagle S departed from Russia early on Christmas Day, crossed the Estlink 2 cable, and made a loop – the video shows the ship's route]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Yle: Russian shadow fleet tanker in the area when Estlink 2 goes offline". ERR. 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ "Lentokielto tukee esitutkintaa" [The flight ban supports the preliminary investigation]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ "Poliisiylijohtaja: Venäjään ei olla yhteydessä" [Police Chief: No contact with Russia]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Karis, Alar [@AlarKaris] (26 December 2024). "Repeated damage to Baltic Sea infrastructure signals a systemic threat, not mere accidents. #Estonia will take action to counter this threat, together with #Finland and other #NATO allies" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 December 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "EU preparing sanctions on Russia's 'shadow fleet' after cable damage". euronews. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Estonia navy to protect undersea power link after main cable damaged". BBC.
- ^ "Finland detains Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea". NPR.
- ^ Stenvall, Niko (27 December 2024). "Rutte: Nato lisää sotilaallista läsnäoloaan Itämerellä" [Rutte: NATO increases its military presence in the Baltic Sea]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 December 2024.