HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland’s public transport agency said on Wednesday that an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea was found to have serious deficiencies and will not be allowed to operate until repairs have been made.
Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The NATO military alliance has said it will boost its presence in the region.
Finnish police on Dec. 26 seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.
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While the police investigation is ongoing, authorities also checked the vessel’s condition in a port state inspection, and said on Wednesday they found 32 errors, including in the fire safety, navigation equipment and pump room ventilation.
“Operating the ship is forbidden until the deficiencies have been rectified,” Director of Maritime Affairs Sanna Sonninen at Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom said in a statement.
Correcting the deficiencies will require outside assistance and will take time, she added.
Finnish lawyer Herman Ljungberg, who represents the ship’s owner, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, said the inspector’s findings should have first been delivered to the company and the vessel before being shared in public.
The lawyer has said that the ship’s alleged damage to undersea equipment happened outside of Finland’s territorial waters and that the country lacked jurisdiction to intervene.
A Finnish court last week denied a request for the vessel’s release.
Finnish police have said they ordered a travel ban for eight crew members as part of the investigation.
Finland’s customs service has said it believes the Eagle S is part of a shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil, and has impounded its cargo.
Moscow has said Finland’s seizure of the ship is not a matter for Russia.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki and Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Toby Chopra)
