Submarine cable sabotage: Tanker crew charged in Finland
Several submarine cables were cut off Finland at the end of 2024. Now a tanker crew is on trial. But does Finland even have jurisdiction?
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(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
The Finnish public prosecutor's office has brought charges against the crew of the tanker Eagle S. They are suspected of systematically cutting undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. The defendants are facing prison sentences for serious damage to property. Among the cables was the Estlink2 connection between Finland and Estonia, which was cut at the end of 2024. (Helsinki District Court, case number R 706/2025/12270)
According to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the captain and the first and second officers of the Cook Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S are charged with serious damage to property and serious interference with communications. The ship is said to have severed five submarine cables by dragging its anchor over some 90 kilometers of seabed in the Gulf of Finland. Finnish authorities subsequently detained the tanker.
Damage amounting to 60 million euros
According to investigators, the tanker, which spilled oil products from the Russian port of Ust-Luga, caused immediate damage of at least 60 million euros due to the necessary repair costs alone. Both power and telecommunications cables with a very high transmission capacity were affected.
The severing of the cables put Finland's energy and telecommunications supply in a critical situation, according to the statement from the public prosecutor's office. According to the public prosecutor's office, a "serious risk" to the national infrastructure arose, even if services could be maintained by alternative connections. This redundancy of the critical infrastructure proved to be crucial for maintaining security of supply.
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Is Finland responsible?
The defense disputes both the allegations and the Finnish jurisdiction in this case. The defendants argue that the damage to the cables occurred outside Finnish territorial waters and that Finland therefore has no jurisdiction. The Helsinki District Court must now clarify this fundamental question of jurisdiction before the actual proceedings can begin.
The case is one of a series of suspicious incidents in the Baltic Sea in which critical infrastructure has been damaged. Experts see this as a new form of hybrid warfare, in which civilian infrastructure is targeted without any formal military action being taken. A Russian shadow fleet of ships is suspected of committing acts of sabotage on their way to and from Russia.
(mki)
