Finnish Police Arrest Russian Ship Crew Suspected of Underwater Cable Damage

Finnish police on Friday detained the crew of the Russian ship Eagle S on suspicion of damaging an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea.

The crew consists of 24 people, eight of whom have had movement restrictions imposed upon them by Finnish police.

nato is toughening its response to the recurring attacks on its underwater infrastructure, which is becoming a major part of Russia’s hybrid warfare on Europe.

Details: On December 25, the Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged, resulting in a sudden power outage. A day later, the Helsinki police boarded and seized the suspected Eagle S vessel; they moved it to port to investigate whether it was responsible for the damage.

The Eagle S is part of Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers shipping oil and gas in defiance of international sanctions imposed over Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Underwater sabotage: The damage came a month after Russia and China were suspected of sabotaging two other underwater cables: one between Lithuania and Sweden, the other between Finland and Germany.

nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance intends to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea to be able to respond to and prevent such attacks.

Overlooked vulnerability: While nato is finally catching on to this threat to its underwater assets, the Trumpet has been warning about Western nations’ technological vulnerability since 1995, focusing in particular on the United States.

Russia and China know nato is dependent on its vast network of underwater cables, and they will likely continue to target them.

Learn more: Read “The Undersea Threat to the Internet.”