The Helsinki District Court has rejected a request to lift the arrest of the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of damaging underwater power line cables.
Points of attention
- Finnish court rejects request to lift arrest of oil tanker Eagle S suspected of damaging underwater power line cables, citing ongoing investigation.
- The detained vessel is at the center of escalating tensions between the EU and Russia, with allegations of deliberate sabotage against European infrastructure.
- Technical examinations and interrogations are ongoing on the vessel, with the investigation expected to last several months.
- Fingrid and Elisa seek to secure damages for cable damage, further complicating the legal proceedings surrounding the arrested oil tanker.
- EU Foreign Affairs Chief warns of coordinated Russian actions to destabilize European infrastructure, calling for stricter measures against Russian vessels.
Finnish court leaves oil tanker Eagle S under arrest
The court hearing was closed and the documents were classified at the request of the police. Detective Inspector Sami Liimatainen explained the secrecy by saying that the preliminary investigation is still in its early stages.
Lawyer Herman Ljungberg, representing the shipping company Caravella, which owns the vessel, has requested that the arrest be lifted in the district court. He says it amounts to a seizure because he has not received a decision on why the vessel was arrested in Finnish territorial waters.
The Central Criminal Police (KRP) previously reported that the vessel was detained because it is evidence in a criminal case. Technical examinations are being conducted on the vessel.
The KRP estimates that the active initial phase of the investigation will take several weeks. Currently, a technical investigation and interrogation of crew members are underway on the vessel.
The full investigation is expected to take at least several months.
The arrest of the oil tanker is also being sought by Fingrid and Elisa to secure their claims for damages due to cable damage.
Finnish police detain oil tanker
Police detained a Cook Islands-flagged tanker on December 28 on suspicion of damaging the Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia and four telecommunications cables on December 25.
Finland's national grid operator Fingrid said it had applied to the court to seize the oil tanker Eagle S to secure the company's claim for damages.
This ship, which was transporting Russian oil, likely belongs to the Russian shadow fleet.
Russia is deliberately attacking EU infrastructure
EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaia Kallas said that the numerous cases of sabotage in European countries recorded in recent months are part of Russia's coordinated actions to destabilize European infrastructure.
According to Kallas, the number of sabotage cases has increased significantly after Russia launched a criminal war against Ukraine.
The head of the EU's foreign policy department mentioned the damage to the Estlink 2 submarine cable in the Baltic Sea, in which Finland suspects the Russian shadow fleet tanker Eagle S of involvement.
Kallas noted that in connection with this and other similar cases, stricter measures will be introduced against Russian vessels.
