Finland has charged the captain of the Eagle S tanker and his assistants with aggravated damage. The country's prosecutor's office believes that they are guilty of the fact that the vessel dragged an anchor along the bottom of the Gulf of Finland and severed five underwater cables, including the EstLink power cable with Finland.
"The Deputy Prosecutor General has filed charges of causing aggravated harm to the captain and the first and second assistants of the registered Cook Islands tanker Eagle S. The charges also include alternative indictments," the Finnish prosecutor's office said.
They noted that a vessel with a cargo of Russian oil products is suspected of having severed five underwater cables in the Gulf of Finland, dragging an anchor along the seabed for about 90 km.
"The owners of the cables suffered a total of at least 60 million euros in damage in the form of repair costs alone. In addition, it is assumed that the disruption of power transmission lines and telecommunications cables with very high capacity created a serious threat to energy supply and telecommunications in Finland, although services could be provided through the use of alternative connections," the prosecutor's office continues.
They noted that during the preliminary investigation, the accused denied the fact of committing crimes.
"They also believe that Finland does not have jurisdiction in this case, since the places of cable damage are outside Finnish territorial waters," the agency continues.
According to him, the Helsinki District Court will begin consideration of the case and decide on jurisdiction.
As EADaily reported, on December 25, Finland detained a tanker that was transporting oil products from Russia. Then the country announced the breakage of the EstLink 2 power cable, which connects Finland and Estonia, and suspicion fell on the tanker Eagle S. Allegedly, the anchor of the vessel could break the cable. At the end of February, the tanker was released, but several crew members remained under arrest in Finland.