Finnish authorities detain Russian 'spy tanker' in espionage row
The Finns have detained the tanker Eagle S, which belongs to the Russian "shadow fleet." The vessel's owner, Caravella LLC FZ, based in the United Arab Emirates, is now demanding the return of what they claim is their "hijacked ship."
A few days ago, the British newspaper Lloyd's List revealed that the ship the Finns detained was carrying espionage equipment. This included "large suitcases" and laptops with Russian and Turkish keyboards. The equipment was intended to monitor the NATO countries' maritime and air traffic. Similar devices were reportedly placed on another tanker, Swiftsea Rider.
Eagle S was detained in the Gulf of Finland. Prior to this, another incident occurred in the Baltic Sea, where the undersea power cable EstLink 2, connecting Estonia and Finland, was damaged. Investigators suspect Eagle S caused the damage. According to the European Commission, it was an "incident (...) in a series of potential attacks on critical infrastructure."
Caravella LLC FZ disagrees with the detention and has filed a request with the court in Helsinki to release the ship. According to Reuters, Finnish lawyer Herman Ljungberg, representing the company, described it as "a case of hijacking." Ljungberg added that the crew was interrogated without legal assistance. The Finnish police do not concur with this statement.
"Shadow fleet" at Putin's service
We have often reported on money.pl about the "shadow fleet" serving the Kremlin. The shadow fleet consists of ageing tankers operating in Baltic waters. Registered in many countries, the Kremlin uses these inexpensive tankers to transport Russian oil. These units not only help Putin circumvent sanctions but also pose a serious threat to the security of countries around the Baltic Sea.
