- विज्ञापन -
Tallinn: The Estonian government held an emergency meeting after the Estlink-2 power cable, which connects Estonia and Finland across the Gulf of Finland, was damaged on December 26.
At a press conference after the meeting, Estonian officials supported Finnish authorities’ belief that the Cook Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S may have “intentionally” struck the cable, according to a report by Xinhua news agency.
Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets mentioned that Finnish authorities had taken the Eagle S into port for further investigation. He stated that the ship’s crew should be prepared to remain in Finnish waters for as long as necessary.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal urged NATO to enhance its maritime presence in the area as a “deterrent fleet” and indicated that the ongoing investigation by Finland would provide more insights.
When asked about the possibility of invoking NATO’s Article 4, which allows member states to consult when they feel their security is threatened, Michal expressed his intention to discuss the issue with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the press conference.
He also noted that the Estonian navy, along with allies, would increase patrols around critical infrastructure and emphasized the need for better cooperation to expedite improvements in infrastructure monitoring.
In a separate press conference, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo mentioned that he had reached out to Baltic Sea allies and that President Alexander Stubb had contacted NATO. He highlighted the threat posed by the “shadow fleet” in the Baltic Sea, which he claimed funds Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine, stating, “Our main task is to find effective means to stop the shadow fleet.”
Orpo confirmed that the Finnish government had not communicated with Russia. The Eagle S, after being seized, was anchored in Finnish waters as authorities conducted their investigation in collaboration with Estonian officials.
The Estlink-2 cable, which spans 145 kilometers under the Gulf of Finland, connects the energy grids of Estonia and Finland. Transmission operators Elering and Fingrid reported the outage on December 25.
