An undersea power cable that runs between Finland and Estonia was disconnected on Christmas Day. Finland is pretty sure that Russia is to blame. On Thursday, Finnish authorities boarded an oil tanker that is part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to dodge sanctions and that just so happened to be spotted passing over the EstLink 2 underwater cable as it stopped working, according to the Financial Times.
Per The Guardian, the incident happened at 12:26 pm local time on Wednesday, and Arto Pahkin, Finland’s head of operations for the electricity grid, immediately said sabotage could not be ruled out. Finnish authorities have also confirmed that damage was caused to at least three other cables, potentially part of the same incident.
This led to the seizure of Eagle S, an oil tanker registered to the Cook Islands but believed to belong to Russia. The ship’s tracking data suggests it was carrying oil from Russia to Egypt, but apparently made room to cause some chaos along the route. Authorities believe the ship’s anchor, which could not be found on the ship, was used to cut the cables.
The Eagle S is believed by authorities to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which the country has been using since the start of its war with Ukraine to evade Western sanctions. The fleet consists of old, rickety vessels that Russia obscures its ownership of using a variety of techniques including labyrinthian management structures, frequent cargo transfers between vessels, falsified information, identification system blackouts, and other schemes. It’s believed the country operates about 600 ships as part of its off-the-books oil business. Because many of these ships carry oil and are poorly maintained, they often violate modern safety standards and ignore regulations, resulting in additional harm including oil spills.
The Christmas Day cable cutting is just the latest in a series of incidents in which undersea cables connecting NATO countries have been severed. Last month, two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea—one running between Finland and Germany, another connecting Lithuania and Sweden—were cut. Those, too, were believed to be the work of Russia’s shadow fleet, which has made a habit of hanging out near critical infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas, according to the New York Times.
While the attacks on these cables have yet to result in any tangible disruption, it has led to an uptick in concern about how this underwater infrastructure could be targeted in future conflicts. Reports have suggested that China has utilized similar tactics in the past, using boat anchors to damage undersea cables. It’s a relatively easy attack to carry out, as most of the cables are about as thick as a garden hose and sit exposed on the sea floor. Countries are exploring additional protections for these key pieces of connectivity to prevent future attacks.