Summary
Finnish police suspect the oil tanker Eagle S, part of a “shadow fleet” linked to Russian oil exports, caused damage to the Baltic seabed by dragging its anchor, breaking the Estlink 2 power cable and four telecoms cables.
The damage left only the smaller Estlink 1 operational between Finland and Estonia, with repairs to Estlink 2 expected by August 2025.
Investigators found a “dragging track” stretching for dozens of kilometers, and the tanker was missing its port side anchor.
NATO has pledged to increase its presence in the Baltic amid ongoing regional tensions.
I don’t know if this was a test run or an actual operation of some kind, but Russia evidently wants to carry out more of these attacks, as they have been mapping out these cables for years now, and have recently been running national internet outage drills.
Are they really mapping out these cables? I thought these things are always announced to the public, they’re hardly secret.
Yeah they’re public info, ironically exactly to prevent “accidents” like this.
Locations yes, but the actual construction isn’t public knowledge. Some are better covered than others
Usually the sites where they come ashore are well known, but the cables in between often not so much. But obviously not the hardest thing to find either with a dredger
Their locations are available to prevent this stuff from happening accidentally.
Costs about $10 per month on marinetraffic - I’m sure there would be other sites cheaper or maybe free.