The Finnish Transport Agency said on Thursday that it was inspecting the tanker.
“The Swedish Armed Forces, with their unique erudition, are contributing to helping Finland find out what happened,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson said.
Sweden will send a submarine rescue ship to help Finland, the Swedish Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“Since the discovery of these cable failures in the Baltic Sea, we have said that Sweden is ready to help its neighbors,” Kristerson said.
“The security situation is serious and we want to strengthen security and cooperation with our neighbors and allies.”
The Eagle S flies the flag of the Cook Islands and is one of the vessels of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is used in efforts to circumvent sanctions.
It is suspected of damaging the underwater power cable “EstLink 2” connecting Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day. Four communication cables in the Gulf of Finland were damaged at the same time.
Finland’s national energy agency “Fingrid” had requested the authorities to confiscate this tanker.
The Eagle S was seized and escorted to the port of Kilpilahti, 40 kilometers east of Helsinki, where investigators are inspecting the vessel and questioning about 20 crew members.
The seven sailors suspected of involvement in the sabotage have been barred from leaving Finland since Tuesday.
A Finland-Estonia underwater power cable, “EstLink 2”, was damaged on Christmas Day. [2] Four communication cables in the Gulf of Finland where also damaged at the same time. The Russian-linked tanker “Eagle S” is suspected of causing the damage. The Finnish Transport Agency is inspecting the tanker, which was seized after a request by Finland’s national energy agency “Fingrid”.[2] Seven crew members suspected of involvement are barred from leaving Finland. [2]
In addition, a nearby Swedish undersea telecoms cable connecting Estonia and sweden was also damaged. [3]
