Finland boards oil tanker suspected of causing internet, power cable outages | U.S. & World [Video]

By Essi Lehto and Andrius Sytas

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finnish authorities on Thursday seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia a day earlier, and that it also damaged or broke four internet lines.

The Cook Islands-registered ship, named by authorities as the Eagle S, was boarded by a Finnish coast guard crew that took command and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters, a coast guard official said at a press conference.

“From our side we are investigating grave sabotage,” said Robin Lardot, director of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation.

“According to our understanding, an anchor of the vessel that is under investigation has caused the damage,” he added.

The Finnish customs service said it had seized the vessel’s cargo and that the Eagle S was believed to belong to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers that seek …