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(Bloomberg) — Finland has ended the seizure of a shadow fleet tanker that pulled up four underwater data cables and a power link on Dec. 25 as investigations proceed.
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The Eagle S will be escorted by the Border Guard from Finnish territorial waters, the police said in an emailed statement on Sunday. Eight crew members are still suspected of offenses, and three of them are prevented from leaving the country, the police said.
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Instances of cable breakages in the Baltic Sea have become more frequent over the past several months. Policymakers have pointed to sabotage, a mistake or incompetence as possible causes of the damage wrought by the tanker’s anchor, which was retrieved from the seabed as part of a probe into aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference of communications.
The tanker, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, will be able to depart carrying its cargo of unleaded petrol and diesel, the police said, adding that it aims to conclude its criminal probe by the end of April.
With thousands of vessels passing through it every day, the Baltic Sea is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — and with it, international energy sanctions against the Kremlin — Western nations expressed concerns that the so-called shadow fleet shipping Russian oil from Baltic ports could cause security breaches and environmental risks due to the age of the vessels and insufficient insurance.
Deficiencies found in a Port State Control inspection in January have been rectified, and Finland’s transport authority Traficom is allowing the ship to set off, the police said.
On Sunday, the power transmission system operators of Finland and Estonia, Fingrid Oyj and Elering AS, dropped their demand that the vessel remain detained, saying the cost of detaining and maintaining the ship likely exceeded its value. Instead, they plan to seek compensation, the companies said in a separate statement.
—With assistance from Julia Janicki.
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