COPENHAGEN: Finnish police stated on Tuesday (Jan 7) that they had recovered a misplaced anchor from the seabed as a part of an investigation of suspected sabotage in opposition to energy and web cables within the Baltic Sea.
Finland final month seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion that the vessel had broken the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 energy line and 4 telecoms cables by dragging its anchor throughout the seabed.
“The situation the place the anchor was discovered is alongside the route of the Eagle S … in the direction of the western finish of the drag hint discovered on the seabed,” Finland’s Nationwide Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stated in a press release.
A Finnish lawyer representing United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ which owns the Eagle S, has stated Finland hijacked the vessel at sea and may launch it, a request that was denied by a court docket on Friday.
The corporate’s lawyer and Caravella LLC FZ didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Tuesday.
Pictures of the Eagle S taken for the reason that incident present the vessel is lacking its port facet anchor.
Baltic Sea nations are on excessive alert after a string of energy cable, telecom hyperlink and fuel pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The NATO navy alliance has stated it will increase its presence within the area.
The anchor was recovered from the seabed with the assistance of Finland’s border guard and defence forces in addition to the Swedish navy, the police stated.
“It’ll contribute to the progress of the legal investigation, and it’s now topic to forensic evaluation,” NBI Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi stated within the assertion.
