Finland charges captain of suspected Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker for subsea cable damage

Finnish authorities have brought charges against the captain and two senior officers of a Russia-linked ship accused of deliberately damaging critical subsea cables in the Baltic Sea. 

In a statement on Monday, Finland’s National Prosecution Authority said they had brought aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications charges against the three senior officers aboard the Eagle S, a tanker registered in the Cook Islands. The three defendants were not identified publicly.

The ship is believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which exports sanctioned goods — particularly oil — and hides its ties to Russia through flags of convenience and opaque ownership structures. 

Finnish authorities boarded the ship in December 2024, suspecting it was responsible for damage to the Estlink-2 power cable and to communications infrastructure between Finland and Estonia. On Monday, authorities said the ship is suspected of damaging five subsea cables by dragging its anchor seabed for about 90 kilometers.

“In addition to the consequences of preventing the use of the cables in Finland, the owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least 60 million euros [about $69.6 million] in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone,” they said. “The disruption of electricity transmission and telecommunications cables with very high transmission capacity is also suspected to have caused a serious risk to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services could be secured by using alternative connections.”

The suspects have denied the charges, the prosecutor’s office said, and claim that Finland should not have jurisdiction over the case because the damage occurred beyond its territorial waters. 

In January, NATO allies along the Baltic Sea convened to address the growing number of incidents involving apparent sabotage of critical infrastructure in the area, warning that they would “enhance NATO's military presence in the Baltic Sea.” 

“Russia's use of the so-called shadow fleet poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally,” they said at the time.