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Swedish navy recovers Russian shadow fleet tanker’s anchor in Finnish Gulf cable damage case

The Eagle S tanker is suspected of deliberately damaging underwater cables between Finland and Estonia in late December.
byYuri Zoria
07/01/2025
2 minute read
swedish navy recovers russian shadow fleet tanker's anchor finnish gulf cable damage case eagle s deck ship hms belos 6 2025 finland's police central criminal (krp) reported 7 tanker suspected
The anchor of the Eagle S on the deck of the Swedish Navy ship HMS Belos on 6 January 2025. Photo: Finland’s police
Swedish navy recovers Russian shadow fleet tanker’s anchor in Finnish Gulf cable damage case

Finnish Police’s National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) reported on 7 January that the anchor of the Eagle S tanker, suspected in damaging undersea communications infrastructure, has been recovered from the Gulf of Finland. The vessel is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, used to avoid the EU and G7 sanctions.

The Russian shadow fleet, created to bypass EU and G7 sanctions, comprises mostly aging tankers and cargo vessels. Russia uses these ships to deliver oil to customers like India and employs gray schemes, such as transferring oil between tankers to obscure its origin.

Finnish authorities Eagle S, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, after it departed Russia and reportedly caused damage to the Estlink 2 power cable between Estonia and Finland on Christmas Day while moving over the cable. The ship missed one of its two anchors.

The Swedish Navy vessel HMS Belos retrieved the anchor in an operation coordinated with Finnish authorities, YLE reports. The anchor was found next to drag marks extending several dozens of kilometers on the seabed.

“The anchor’s location was found along Eagle S’s route in the Porkkalanniemi Strait,” KRP Chief Inspector Risto Lohi said in a statement. “The anchor was located at the western end of the drag mark found on the seabed, close to where the drag mark ends.”

Authorities located the anchor position overnight between Sunday and Monday, with the actual recovery taking place on Monday. According to YLE sources, the anchor was retrieved from approximately 80-meter depth.

Police suspect that the Eagle S oil tanker’s anchor severed an electrical cable between Finland and Estonia and damaged four data cables. Eight crew members of Eagle S are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications.

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