Finland to Complete Safety Inspection on Detained Tanker
(Bloomberg) -- Finland recovered the anchor of Eagle S, the tanker that’s detained after damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea last month, from the seabed.
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The anchor was raised to the surface on Monday and taken for forensic analysis, the National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Tuesday.
The events unfolded after Dec. 25, when Eagle S sailed over a subsea power link and four data cables in the Gulf of Finland, damaging the critical infrastructure assets. Finnish authorities have found drag marks likely left by its anchor over a distance of “dozens of kilometers” on the bottom of the sea, and identified the ship as the culprit.
The vessel, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, has been identified as a member of the so-called shadow fleet transporting Russian petroleum products, and is now detained at a port in southern Finland.
Finland is allowed to keep the ship detained, a court ruled on Friday, while it probes aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference of communications.
Among other investigations, a Port State Control inspection carried out by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is coming to an end, according to a statement on Tuesday. Traficom expects to announce the results of the safety probe as well as any decisions regarding the seaworthiness of the tanker on Wednesday.
Traficom’s inspection included the vessel’s technical condition, environmental aspects, documentation as well as the conditions of the crew on board.
On Monday, Finnish telecommunications company Elisa Oyj said it had repaired both of its submarine data cables that were damaged in December. Cinia Oy also said on Tuesday its cable, a high-speed Finland to Germany connection for data centers, was fixed and that it had filed an application to the Helsinki District Court demanding the vessel’s seizure in order to compensate for the damages.
Separately, the Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led defense group that also includes Finland and Sweden, has stepped up activity to identify suspicious vessel movements faster, the Swedish government said in a statement on Monday.
--With assistance from Christopher Jungstedt and Alastair Reed.
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