Finland recovers anchor in Baltic Sea cables investigation

In October, Finnish authorities intercepted a tanker called the Eagle S that was transporting Russian oil. They are investigating whether the ship's anchor damaged two major underwater cables, the Estlink 2 power line and four other communication cables that are essential for telecommunications between Finland and Estonia.

"The anchor was discovered at a location along the path of the junk that was tracked down by the Eagle Sparrow, near the western end of a drag mark on the sea floor," said Finland's National Investigation Bureau.

A lawyer representing an Emirati company called Caravella LLC FZ, which owns the vessel Eagle Ship, maintains that Finland seized the vessel at sea, and is demanding that it be released. However, on Friday, a court rejected that request.

The company's lawyer along with Caravella LLC FZ failed to provide a response to a Wednesday request for comment.

Photographs of the Eagle after the incident have been taken, revealing that the ship is currently missing its port side anchor.

Countries bordering the Baltic Sea are taking extra precautions due to a series of disruptions to power cables, telecommunication lines, and natural gas pipelines since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A winch anchor was pulled up from the seafloor using assistance from Finland's border patrol and military forces in partnership with the Swedish naval forces.

"It will help advance the criminal investigation and is now being thoroughly examined by forensic experts," NBI Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi stated.

Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Louise Rasmussen; editing by Terje Solsvik and Louise Rasmussen