EAGLE S

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Latest news

Officers could be charged by end of August

Three officers of the 'Eagle S', who have been detained in Finland since Christmas Day after their ship severed multiple subsea cables in the Baltic Sea, could be charged with criminal offenses within the next two months, according to Jukka Rappe, Finland’s deputy prosecutor general, who said that the prosecutors expected to make their decision over whether to bring charges against the men by August at the latestt. The NBI announced on June 13 that its criminal investigation had been completed and had upheld the suspicions of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The suspects, who were believed to be Georgian nationals, were the three most senior officers on board the Russia-linked oil tanker. The ship was seized by Finnish authorities after dragging its anchor along the seafloor for almost 62 miles, amid concerns over Russian sabotage and subversion activities in Europe. The rest of the crew and the ship were freed to depart in March. According to Finland’s Criminal Code, which does not contain a specific offense for sabotage, aggravated criminal mischief carries a minimum prison sentence of two years and a maximum of 10, while the sentence for aggravated interference with telecommunications ranges between four months and five years. The decision to formally charge the three men rests with prosecutors. Pre-trial investigation of the 'Eagle S case has been completed, and the case transferred to the Office of the Prosecutor General for consideration of charges. The Eagle S had also been investigated by Traficom, the Finnish transport and communications agency, which dentified deficiencies aboard, both in terms of its crew accommodation and the general maintenance of the ship, particularly in regards to fire safety, navigation equipment and pump room ventilation.

Repairs of submarine cable completed

The repairs to the Estlink 2 electricity transmission cable between Finland and Estonia have been completed. The submarine cable can be put back into service on June 20. The connection has been out of service since December 2024, and the work to repair the cable has been ongoing at sea since mid-May. During the repair, approximately one kilometer of the damaged submarine cable was replaced with a new one.Tests to restart the cable began on the evening of June 17 and have continued without problems. The cable will be put into commercial operation as soon as the test period has been successfully completed. Despite Estlink 2 being out of service since Christmas Day, electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia has been working. However, capacity has temporarily decreased by 650 megawatts. The 'Eagle S' is suspected of causing the damage. The Finnish Central Criminal Police has investigated the case. Among other things, three people on the crew were suspected of crimes. The tanker belongs to the Russian shadow fleet.

Finland accuses crew of Russian linked tanker of damaging undersea cable

The National Bureau of Investigation of Finland (NBI) has completed its criminal investigation into the damage caused to cables in the Gulf of Finland by the 'EAgle S' on Dec 25,. 2024. As stated, based on the investigation, senior officers of the tanker were suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The investigation focused on the possible involvement of the tanker, which was present in the area at the time the cables were damaged. As a result of the investigative measures carried out during the criminal investigation, the police support that they have a clear understanding of the sequence of events. Drawing on evidence gathered from the vessel, seabed analysis and crew interviews, senior officers of the 'Eagle S' were suspected of committing aggravated criminal mischief and serious interference with telecommunications. Furthermore, among the suspects are the master, the chief mate and the second mate, who were responsible for the safe passage, navigation and operation of the vessel. The criminal investigation has examined and assessed, among other things, the extent of their responsibility for the condition of the vessel and the degree to which they should have observed the anchor falling into the sea. The investigation involved close cooperation with both national and international authorities to establish the course of events and has been concluded with the case being referred to the Office of the Prosecutor General for consideration of charges. Report with photo: https://safety4sea.com/finland-accuses-vessel-crew-of-damaging-undersea-cable/