The Russian shadow fleet oil tanker Eagle S, which was detained by Finland this week after damaging the EstLink 2 undersea cable, was carrying spying equipment, citing the shipping news publication Lloyd’s List, on Saturday, the 28th of December, reports Estonian broadcaster ERR.
“The high-tech equipment on board was unusual for a commercial vessel and consumed more power from the ship’s generator, leading to repeated power cuts,” a source with knowledge of the vessel told the publication.
The source said the listening and recording equipment was brought on board the tanker in “huge portable suitcases” along with “several laptops” with Turkish and Russian keyboards.
The equipment was used to record all radio frequencies and was offloaded for analysis when it reached Russia.
“They were monitoring all NATO naval ships and aircraft,” the source told Lloyd’s List.
On the 26th of December, Finnish border guards intercepted an aging vessel linked to the Russian “shadow fleet” and brought it into Finnish waters. On Saturday morning, police moved the tanker to port for investigation.
The ship is suspected to have severed the EstLink 2 electricity cable that runs through the Gulf of Finland and connects Estonia and Finland. Four data cables were damaged at around the same time.
The crew of the vessel consisted of Georgian and Indian nationals, Finnish criminal police said.
On Friday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said it was too early to conclude whether the cable damage could be linked to Russia’s hybrid attack. He told the media that no diplomatic reaction had yet been received from Russia.
Following this incident, the latest in a series of incidents involving Russian and Chinese vessels in the region, NATO will increase its presence in the Baltic Sea.
Media: Spying equipment found on seized Russian tanker
