7 staff of tanker Eagle S face travel ban

Seven staff members of tanker Eagle S whose status in the criminal investigation is that of a suspect have been subjected to a travel ban, said police in a press release on Tuesday.

The authorities on Tuesday resumed their underwater investigations after interruption due to poor weather conditions.

The criminal investigation into the cable ruptures that took place in the Gulf of Finland on 25 December is active and continues with also other investigative measures.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) continued investigative measures on board the tanker Eagle S, which is anchored in the inner anchorage of Svartbeck near the oil port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo.

“A travel ban is a less severe coercive measure limiting personal freedom than apprehension and arrest, and it is imposed to ensure that the criminal investigation is not compromised and that the parties can be reached during the investigation. However, further information is gathered as the investigation goes on, so it is possible that the number of those subjected to a travel ban will change,” said Detective Chief Inspector of NBI Elina Katajamäki..

Besides the investigative measures on the tanker, the authorities have restarted their underwater investigations in the Gulf of Finland. The investigations are being carried out in the vicinity of the previously photographed dragging track.

The joint operation between the authorities in the Gulf of Finland is led by the Helsinki Police Department and supported by the Border Guard. The operation continues for as long as required by the investigation, however for several days.

Police on December 28, transferred the Eagle S tanker, the suspect of Estlink 2 submarine cable damage from the Gulf of Finland to the Svartbeck inner anchorage near Porvoo.

Finnish authorities suspected the Eagle S, a tanker registered in the Cook Islands for its involvement in the rupture of the Estlink 2 submarine power transmission cable between Finland and Estonia on December 25.

The electricity transmission cable has been cut in the sea area in Finland's exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Finland, about 55 km south of Loviisa.