Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
6h ago

Finland Seizes Foreign Vessel Over Baltic Cable Cut, Files Sabotage Charges

Authorities opened a coordinated investigation with Estonia to determine responsibility and protect critical seabed links.

Finnish Border Guard's ship Turva and oil tanker Eagle S sail on the sea outside the Porkkalanniemi, Finland on December 26, 2024. RAJAVARTIOSTO-Finnish Border Guard/LEHTIKUVA/HANDOUT via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND.
Image

Overview

  • Finnish operator Elisa first reported a fault on a Finland–Estonia submarine cable inside Estonia’s exclusive economic zone.
  • The Border Guard intercepted a foreign ship sailing with an anchor down, ordered it to a Finnish anchorage, and authorities took control of the vessel.
  • The Prosecutor General brought counts of serious sabotage and aggravated interference in communications against the ship, which remains unnamed and without established state attribution.
  • Police, the Border Guard, the Armed Forces, Customs, Traficom and grid operator Fingrid are conducting a joint investigation while sharing information with Estonia.
  • Officials place the episode in a pattern of Baltic seabed damage since 2022, noting the Eagle S case that a Finnish court dismissed for lack of proven intent.