Finland court drops case against Russian 'shadow fleet' crew accused of undersea cable damage

The Helsinki District Court ruled that Finland does not have jurisdiction to prosecute the captain and two assistants of the Eagle S oil tanker, Finnish media outlet Yle reported on Oct. 3.

The three men — Captain Davit Vadatchkor and assistant captains Robert Egizaryan and Santosh Kumar Chaurasia — had been accused of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutors sought at least 2.5 years of in prison.

Finnish investigators suspected the Eagle S deliberately dragged its anchor for dozens of kilometers across the Baltic seabed, damaging critical infrastructure.

The Estlink 2 undersea power cable on Dec. 25, a 170-kilometer (106-mile) link between Finland and Estonia, was seriously damaged. In January, the Swedish Navy recovered an anchor from the site.

The court completely dismissed the charges against the sailors and ordered the Finnish state to cover their legal costs, totaling about 195,000 euros ($228,000). It ruled that jurisdiction lies either with the vessel's flag state or the home countries of the defendants, not Finland.

The Eagle S is believed to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet," a network of tankers used to bypass sanctions and the oil price cap through obscure ownership structures and flags of convenience.

The decision follows growing Western scrutiny of the shadow fleet.

German investigators are reportedly probing whether drones spotted over northern Germany in September were linked to a Russian vessel operating in the Baltic Sea.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Sept. 29 that Russia may be using such ships to launch drones into NATO airspace, calling for Europe to restrict Moscow's access to the Baltic Sea.

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The Kyiv IndependentTania Myronyshena