Finland’s power grid operator asks court to seize Russian shadow fleet tanker Eagle S after undersea cable damage

The Finnish power grid operator Fingrid has filed an application with the Helsinki District Court to seize the vessel Eagle S (formerly known as Norstar Intrepid). The ship is suspected of involvement in sabotage related to the undersea Estlink 2 cable, which connects the electricity grids of Finland and Estonia.

The ship is currently docked at a port near the city of Porvoo, approximately 30 miles east of the country’s capital, Helsinki.

The company stated that its request for seizure aims to “secure its claim for damages related to the breakdown of EstLink 2 connection.” The undersea cable remains out of service after it was damaged on Christmas Day and will take months to repair. Increased electricity prices in Estonia over the winter are expected as a result. The damage to the Estlink 2 marks the latest in a string of suspicious incidents involving damage to underwater power and communication cables.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) is currently conducting a detailed inspection of the tanker. The regulatory authority plans to assess whether the ship complies with international conventions.

The Finnish police previously reported that the investigation into the severing of EstLink 2 and four other communication cables on Dec. 25 revealed an anchor trail spanning close to 100 kilometers (approximately 60 miles).

On Dec. 31, seven crew members of the Eagle S were banned from leaving Finland. An additional person of interest in the case was hit with a similar restriction on Jan. 2, as per a reports by national broadcaster Yle. The tanker’s crew is known to include citizens of Georgia and India, though Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not yet disclosed the nationalities of the suspects.

The authorities have reported that the active early stage of the investigation will extend over several weeks, with the entire inquiry potentially lasting several months.

The NBI seized the tanker on Dec. 28, relocating it to Porvoo.

Fingrid's General Counsel Marina Louhija told national broadcaster Yle that the company’s seizure application targets only the vessel responsible for the damage — not its cargo.

Louhija explained that while the NBI’s seizure request falls under the category of criminal law and enforcement, Fingrid's application is focused on civil law, as the company aims to secure compensation.

“They are essentially two separate legal processes, which is why a separate application is needed, as we have different grounds,” Louhija said.

The Eagle S, which departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Dec. 25 at 3:25 a.m. local time, was detained in the Gulf of Finland following the damage to the EstLink 2 cable. Data from MarineTraffic reviewed by The Insider indicated that the vessel significantly reduced its speed and began performing unusual circular maneuvers near the site of the break. After performing these maneuvers, the vessel resumed its journey. The unusual period in question lasted less than 10 minutes.

Sources cited by the Financial Times and the British maritime journal Lloyd's List claim that the Eagle S is part of Russia's “shadow fleet,” which is used to transport Russian crude oil in circumvention of a $60-per-barrel price cap imposed by the G7, EU, and Australia in December 2022. Lloyd's List later reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the vessel, that the tanker was outfitted with espionage equipment that was used to monitor NATO naval and air force operations.