Friday morning, December 27, 2024: The ten-member crew of the EML Raju sets sail with orders for a peculiar mission. The Estonian navy patrol boat has been assigned to protect Estlink 2: it’s the undersea electricity cable connecting Finland and Estonia.

The cable was severely damaged and was taken out of service on Christmas Day: 25 December 2024. The Estonian authorities were able to cover the losses immediately so that households and businesses would not be without power on the happiest day of the year.

But the damage to the cable is extensive. Investigators in Finland and Estonia are certain it is sabotage.

Finnish police have already raided the Eagle S. It is a Cook Islands-flagged tanker that Brussels and Helsinki claim is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which Moscow uses to circumvent Western sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

According to the Finnish authorities’ initial findings, the Eagle S’s anchors were deliberately dragged along the Baltic seabed for tens of kilometers, with the aim of damaging the Estlink 2 undersea cable.

Now, both the ship and the crew of the Eagle S are in custody until the case is fully investigated.