In a statement posted on its website on December 26, the Finland police said it is investigating “the rupture of the Estlink 2 power transmission cable within Finland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Gulf of Finland”, adding that it is also “looking into other possible damages in the maritime area”.
The statement revealed that the Eagle S vessel’s “involvement in causing the rupture is under investigation”. It noted that “due to actions taken by the authorities”, the tanker entered Finland’s territorial waters. The statement went on to reveal that the Helsinki Police Department and the Border Guard “have conducted a tactical operation on the vessel”.
“The authorities have taken investigative measures on the vessel, with access there provided by the Finnish Border Guard and the Defense Forces helicopters,” the statement said.
“At this stage, the case is being investigated as aggravated criminal mischief. In this respect, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is responsible for leading the criminal investigation,” it added.
“Customs is making preliminary inquiries on-site in regard to an aggravated regulation violation and is looking into details concerning the cargo. For the purposes of the criminal investigation, the police are working closely and exchanging information with Estonian authorities,” it continued.
“The police are investigating the incidents, and more information on the case will be provided as soon as possible,” it went on to state.
The Finland police statement highlighted that the Eagle S tanker is registered in the Cook Islands. Reuters reported in an article published on December 26 that, according to MarineTraffic data, Caravella LLCFZ owns the Eagle S. That Reuters article also reported that, according to MarineTraffic, Peninsular Maritime acts as a technical manager for the Eagle S.
MarineTraffic.com categorizes the Eagle S as a crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Cook Islands.
Rigzone has contacted the office of the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Caravella LLCFZ, and Peninsular Maritime for comment on the Finland police statement. At the time of writing, Rigzone has not yet received a response from any of the above.
A statement posted on Fingrid’s website on December 25 stated that the EstLink 2 electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia had failed.
“The EstLink 2 electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia was disconnected from the grid after noon on Wednesday,” the statement noted.
“The Finnish and Estonian transmission system operators Fingrid and Elering immediately started investigating the fault with the authorities and work will continue until the fault has been located,” it added.
“The electricity transmission link is out of service for the time being. The repair of the connection will start as soon as the fault location has been identified. The failure of the cross-border electricity transmission link did not endanger the operation of the electricity system in Finland, the electricity system is functioning normally, and electricity reliability is currently good,” it continued.
EstLink 2 is the electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia and has a transmission capacity of 650 MW, the statement highlighted, noting that the total length of the electricity transmission link is 170km (105 miles), of which 145km (90 miles) is submarine cable, 14km (8.6 miles) overhead on the Finnish side, and 12km (7.4 miles) underground in Estonia.
A statement posted on Fingrid’s site on December 26 said “the fault was located in the submarine cable on Thursday”.
“Preparations for the repair work on the connection have begun. The repair work is estimated to take several months. We aim to provide a more precise schedule for the repair work on the EstLink 2 connection next week,” it continued.
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