External Force Caused Damage to Baltic Subsea Cables

A pair of telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged by a strong external force on December 25, 2024. Finland’s Elisa reported the incident and stated that the cables have since been repaired. Finnish authorities seized the Eagle S tanker, carrying Russian oil, on December 26, suspecting it of causing the damage by dragging its anchor across the seabed and damaging the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecom cables on Christmas Day.

Elisa’s Chief Security Officer, Jaakko Wallenius, mentioned that the suspicion is that the damage was caused by an anchor. The damaged cables, which run between Finland and Estonia, are steel-reinforced with a diameter of just over two centimeters and have several layers of insulation protecting the fibers within. The Eagle S vessel, registered in the Cook Islands, was taken to a bay near Finland’s port of Porvoo for further investigation, with eight crew members named as suspects.

Operators Fingrid of Finland and Elering of Estonia have estimated that repairing the Estlink 2 power cable, along with the telecom cables, will take approximately seven months. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with authorities collecting evidence and questioning the crew members to determine the extent of the damage and responsibility for the incident.

Source