Estonia has initiated naval patrols to protect an undersea power cable from Finland, following a suspected sabotage incident on Christmas Day, according to Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.
“We have decided to deploy our navy near Estlink 1 to protect and secure our energy connection with Finland,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The undersea Estlink 2 cable was disconnected from the network on Wednesday, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, reported The Guardian, relayed by Gazeta Express.
Finnish authorities said on Thursday that they were investigating an oil tanker that sailed from a Russian port in connection with the suspected “sabotage.”
The ship, Eagle S, which flies the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, was en route to Port Said in Egypt.
“Currently, it is believed that this is a ‘shadow fleet’ vessel, and its cargo was unleaded gasoline loaded at a Russian port,” said Sami Rakshit, the director-general of Finnish customs.
The term “shadow fleet” refers to ships transporting raw materials and Russian oil that are under embargo due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Police suspect that the oil tanker’s anchor chain may have damaged the energy cable.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Thursday, “Damage to critical underwater infrastructure has become so frequent that it is hard to believe these are mere accidents or just poor maritime maneuvers.”
He added that dragging an anchor chain at the bottom of the sea is unlikely to be considered an accident.
