Estonia Conducts Urgent Meeting Following Undersea Power Cable Incident
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Tallinn, Dec 27 (NationPress) The Estonian government convened an urgent meeting after the Estlink-2 power cable, which connects Estonia and Finland across the Gulf of Finland, was damaged the previous day.
During a press conference that followed the meeting on Thursday, Estonian officials concurred with Finnish authorities’ suspicion that the Cook Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S had intentionally collided with the offshore cable, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets mentioned that Finnish authorities have detained the Eagle S for further investigation. Supporting the Finnish inquiry, he stated, “The ship's crew must be prepared to remain in the country's waters for as long as necessary.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal urged NATO to bolster its maritime presence in the area as a “deterrent fleet,” adding that the findings of Finland's investigation would provide further insights.
When asked if Estonia would contemplate invoking NATO's Article 4, Michal expressed his intention to discuss the issue with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the press conference.
Article 4 indicates that member states will engage in consultations whenever a member perceives a threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security.
Michal noted that the Estonian navy, alongside allies, will enhance patrolling around critical infrastructure.
He emphasized the collaborative deployment of vessels to oversee undersea infrastructure, advocating for improved cooperation to accelerate infrastructure advancements.
At a separate press conference later on Thursday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo acknowledged having reached out to Baltic Sea partners and stated that President Alexander Stubb had contacted NATO.
“This highlights the threat of the shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea,” Mr. Orpo remarked at a news conference in Finland’s capital, Helsinki.
“Our primary objective is to find effective strategies to eliminate the shadow fleet,” Mr. Orpo continued. “The shadow fleet finances Russia’s war efforts, enabling the continuation of its conflict in Ukraine against the Ukrainian people, and this must be halted.”
He confirmed that the Finnish government had not communicated with Russia. After its seizure, the Eagle S was anchored in Finnish waters as authorities conducted investigations in collaboration with Estonian officials.
The 145-km EstLink 2 cable, located beneath the Gulf of Finland, links the energy grids of Estonia and Finland. Transmission operators Elering and Fingrid reported the outage on December 25.
