A Finnish district court is expected to rule on Friday in the criminal trial of the captain and first and second officers of the oil tanker Eagle S, accused of cutting five undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea last year, „Reuters“ reports, News.bg reports.
The trial is among the first attempts to prosecute suspects in the damage to critical undersea infrastructure. The case is complicated by international maritime law and the difficulty of proving criminal intent. The three defendants deny their guilt.
The incident on December 25, 2023, was one of a series of cable and gas pipeline disruptions in the Baltic Sea since the start of the war in Ukraine. In response, NATO forces in the region were put on high alert.
According to the indictment, the ship, carrying Russian oil, dragged an anchor weighing 11,000 kg along the seabed of the Gulf of Finland for 90 km. This led to the rupture of the Finnish-Estonian power line Estlink 2 and four internet lines.
Finnish prosecutors charged the Georgian captain and first officer, as well as the Indian second officer, with aggravated assault and interference with telecommunications. According to court documents, the charges are based on allegations of gross negligence due to a faulty anchor winch, rather than evidence of intentional action.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty and said the anchor fell unnoticed due to a technical fault. They have also rejected claims for tens of millions of euros in damages from the owners of the damaged cables.
The prosecution has asked for a minimum sentence of two and a half years in prison for each of the defendants. The defense has insisted that Finland has no jurisdiction because the damage was caused in international waters, an argument that the court will consider in its ruling.
After the trial ended in September, the court lifted the travel bans and the three defendants left Finland. No charges have been filed against the ship's owner, and the vessel was released from detention in March.