A helicopter from the Finnish Border Guard hovered over Eagle S, a Cook Islands-registered oil tanker that is suspected of damaging a transmission link between Finland and Estonia, on the Baltic Sea on 27 December 2024. Believed to be part of the so-called shadow fleet of Russia, the tanker has a crew of 24, seven of whom have been imposed travel bans as Finnish authorities continue to investigate the incident. (Handout / Finnish Border Guard)
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SEVEN CREW on Eagle S, the Cook Islands-registered oil tanker that is suspected of damaging a submarine transmission link between Finland and Estonia on 25 December, have been imposed travel bans.
“The investigation is constantly progressing and the circumstances are becoming clearer, meaning it is possible that the number of people under travel bans will change,” Elina Katajamäki, a detective chief inspector at Helsinki Police Department, said in a press release on 31 December 2024.
The investigators have resumed underwater examinations along the dozens of kilometres of drag marks left behind by the tanker, after a few-day delay caused by inclement weather. It is believed that the tanker lowered its anchor and dragged it along the seabed deliberately, damaging the transmission link.
Herman Ljungberg, the legal counsel for the crew of Eagle S, told Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday that the vessel has a 24-person crew.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) will conduct a port-state control inspection on the tanker as soon as the ongoing pre-trial investigation allows. Sanna Sonninen, the director of maritime affairs at Traficom, has said the inspection is set to take more than a day and begin no earlier than on Thursday.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
