In October 2023, another Chinese ship ruptured an underwater gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.
The Yi Peng 3 and Eagle S are suspected to be part of the so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers used by Russia to avoid Western sanctions imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The EU said it was working on measures, including sanctions, aimed at “Russia’s shadow fleet that threatens security and the environment”.
After weeks at anchor in the Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark, the Chinese tanker was eventually taken on board by authorities in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Finland, but set sail last week.
Instead, Finnish authorities said they boarded the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S in the early hours of Thursday and escorted it to the Finnish coast near Porkala, across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn.
“Our patrol ship went to the area and was able to visually determine that the ship’s anchor was missing,” Marku Hasinen, deputy head of Finland’s border guard, said at a press conference.
Estonia’s prime minister tried to reassure Estonians on Thursday that they will continue to have secure electricity supplies.
The two main energy companies, Elering and Eesti Energia, had different backup and standby power plants, he told reporters.
However, he added that it is impossible to protect every square meter of the seabed all the time.
