The outage left only the Estlink 1 cable in operation, reducing the electricity flow to Estonia by almost two-thirds. The rupture had little impact on services due to reserve capacities.
However, it sparked fears energy prices would rise while the cable remains offline β potentially for months. The following day, Finnish officials boarded and detained the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-flagged tanker they said was carrying oil from Russia to Turkey.
It had passed over the cable, apparently dragging its anchor, Finnish officials said. He acknowledged, though, that some believe what happened to have been accidental. NATO, already tracking incidents of suspected cable-cutting, responded. Within three weeks, the alliance had put a coordinated group of warships to sea specifically to deter such suspected attacks. Russia denies any role in the damage. Finnish authorities are yet to announce the findings of their investigation into the Estlink 2 failure.
Russia has denied allegations of involvement in underwater cable sabotage. Under the Baltic Sea, there are dozens of vulnerable internet and power cables, laid mostly unprotected on the seabed.
Repairs can be costly, and damage can take months to fix. Even small outages could deny tens of thousands access to their favorite shows and movies, and impact online shopping and home deliveries.
