A Finnish court has upheld the detention of a "shadow fleet" tanker that damaged undersea cables.
This is reported by Bloomberg agency.
The tanker Eagle S was detained by the police on December 28. Investigations of the seabed revealed numerous traces indicating that the vessel was dragging its anchor during the incident.
This marks the third occurrence in just over a year where a ship's anchor has damaged underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
On Friday, the Helsinki District Court rejected a petition from the shipping company Caravella LLC from the United Arab Emirates to terminate the tanker’s detention, according to an electronic response to inquiries.
The vessel, which sails under the flag of the Cook Islands, has been identified as part of the so-called "shadow fleet" transporting Russian oil products.
It is currently held in a port in southern Finland. The tanker is under investigation for suspected serious crimes, particularly for causing significant property damage and interfering with communication systems.
Let us remind you:
The Finnish authorities are investigating the case of the oil tanker, which is part of Russia's shadow fleet, to determine whether it severed the electrical cable between Finland and Estonia.
On Monday, December 2, a fiber-optic cable connecting Finland to Sweden was damaged, resulting in a major communication disruption.
On November 18, the underwater communication cable between Finland and Germany was cut, and an investigation into the cause of the breakage is ongoing.
Finnish law enforcement, investigating the damage to underwater power and information cables, found traces on the seabed likely left by the anchor of the detained shadow fleet tanker Eagle S.
Repairing the damaged electrical cable Estlink 2 in the Baltic Sea, which was compromised on December 25, will be lengthy and costly.