A Russian-connected oil tanker suspected of severing the Estlink 2 power cable that runs beneath the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia was reportedly discovered to be loaded with spy equipment. (Mikko Stig/AFP via Getty Images) Share The Eagle S — a tanker ship carrying Russian oil and suspected of cutting the Estlink 2 power line running beneath the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia – was apparently filled with espionage equipment. The cable incident is the latest in a series of such instances in this strategically crucial region as tensions with Russia have escalated in the wake of its war on Ukraine. After being confiscated by Finnish Police, the Eagle S was found to be “kitted out with special transmitting and receiving devices that were used to monitor naval activity, according to a source with direct involvement in the ship,” Lloyds List reported. That equipment “effectively allowed it to become a ‘spy ship’ for Russia.”

“The hi-tech equipment on board was abnormal for a merchant ship and consumed more power from the ship’s generator, leading to repeated blackouts, a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago,” the publication noted. The “listening and recording equipment was brought on to the 20-year-old tanker via ‘huge portable suitcases’ along with ‘many laptops’ that had keyboards for Turkish and Russian languages when calling at Türkiye and Russia,” Lloyd’s List reported. “The equipment was kept on the bridge or in the ‘monkey island,’ the uppermost portion of the ship.” “The transmitting and receiving devices were used to record all radio frequencies, and upon reaching Russia were offloaded for analysis,” the outlet added. “They were All NATO naval vessels and planes are being monitored. They have every information on them. “They were simply matching their frequencies.” The equipment was being operated by “Russians, Turkish, and Indian radio officers,” according to Lloyds List. “Eagle S also dropped’sensors-type devices’ in the English Channel during a transit,” the sources said. The War Zone cannot independently verify these assertions; nonetheless, a maritime industry security source stated that they “are plausible.” After the Eagle S was spotted in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) where the Estlink 2 cable was severed, Finnish police boarded and seized the 750-foot-long, Cook Island-flagged oil tanker, bringing it into their territorial waters. Finnish authorities also opened a criminal inquiry.

“The Helsinki Police Department and the Border Guard have conducted a tactical operation on the vessel,” the Finnish Police stated on Thursday. “The authorities have conducted investigations on the vessel, with access supplied by Finnish Border Guard and Defence Force helicopters. The authorities are also investigating other maritime-related damages.” According to Reuters, Finnish authorities believe Eagle S may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the bottom. According to MarineTraffic records, Caravella LLCFZ in the United Arab Emirates owns the yacht. They did not respond to our request for comment. The 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 outage began at 12:00 local time on Wednesday, leaving just the 358 MW Estlink 1, which links Finland and Estonia, the countries’ electricity grid operators told Reuters. The following day, officials said that four telecommunications cables connecting Estonia with Finland under the Baltic Sea were also out of service.This photo taken on March 6, 2014 shows Fingrid’s EstLink 2 transformer station in Anttila in Porvoo (Borga), Finland, on the day of the start of its operation between Finland and Estonia. Electricity between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection is currently halted. According to Finnish grid operator Fingrid the subsea transmission line experienced an outage on Christmas Day December 25, 2024 at 12:26pm. Fingrid revealed that the cause of the fault is under investigation. (Photo by Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT (Photo by MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

Friday morning, Finnish President Alex Stubb said that “the situation is under control.”“We have no reason to be concerned,” he added on Twitter. “We are investigating what happened.”