Finland upholds seizure of potential Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker suspected of damaging undersea cables

A Finnish court has upheld the seizure of a tanker suspected by police of carrying Russian oil while damaging the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 undersea power line and four telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea last week, Reuters reported on Friday. Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation impounded the vessel, and officials confiscated its cargo of 35,000 metric tons (roughly 10.8 million gallons) of unleaded petrol, pending investigations into the Eagle S tanker’s potential roles in the cable damage and in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” which would put the ship in violation of sanctions against Moscow.

The Finnish lawyer representing the Eagle S’s owners said on Friday that the cargo’s owners “plan to seek its release,” though he did not say if the oil’s owners are Russian.