Finnish court upheld oil tanker seizure in undersea cable investigation. russia-ukraine war news
Finland seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion that it caused damage to the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power plant.
A Finnish court has rejected a request for the release of an oil tanker suspected of damaging an undersea power line and four telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea.
Last week, Finland seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion that it had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and telecom cable by dragging its anchor to the seabed the previous day.
A lawyer representing UAE-based Caravella LLC FZ, which owns the tanker, had demanded the release of the ship and crew.
“This district court has rejected the defendant’s claim, which means the seizure will remain in force,” Helsinki District Court Judge Tatu Koistinen said Friday.
Herman Ljungberg, a Finnish lawyer representing Caravella, said the company now planned to file a new motion for the release of the ship.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation seized the ship and the Finnish Customs Office seized its cargo of 35,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol while it investigates whether sanctions against Russia were violated.
The Customs Service believes the Eagle S is part of a shadow fleet of older tankers that are being used to avoid sanctions on the sale of Russian oil.
Ljungberg, who has accused Finland of capturing the Eagle S in international waters, said Friday that his legal filing had sought transparency about where the capture took place, but this was rejected by the court.
The owner of the cargo also plans to demand its release, the lawyer said.
The Eagle S, which is registered in the Cook Islands, was towed to a bay near Finland’s Porvoo port where police are currently gathering evidence and interrogating the crew, who are Georgian and Indian nationals.
Finnish police have said that eight crew members are suspects in the investigation.
Sweden said Friday it was also sending a military ship to help the Finnish investigation.
“With their unique expertise, the Swedish Armed Forces are contributing to helping Finland shed light on what happened,” Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Christerson said in a statement.
Baltic Sea countries are on high alert following disruptions in supplies of power cables, telecommunications links and gas pipelines following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
NATO said last week it would increase its presence in the region.
The EU has also announced enhanced measures to protect undersea cables by improving intelligence sharing and the use of new detection technology and repair capabilities.
