Finnish police said on Friday they had concluded their investigation into an oil tanker believed to have been responsible for damaging several undersea Baltic Sea cables, and suspected three crew members of crimes.
The Eagle S, which is registered in the Cook Islands, is suspected of dragging its anchor dozens of kilometres along the Baltic seabed, damaging an electrical cable and four telecommunications cables on 25 December.
Finland's national prosecutor's office said on Monday it has brought charges against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker.
"Based on the material collected from the vessel, the examination of the seabed, and the interviews conducted with the crew, senior officers of the tanker Eagle S are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications," Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said in a statement.
"The owners of the cables have suffered a total of at least 60 million euros ($69.85 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone," a statement by the prosecutor read.
The ship is believed to belong to Russia's "shadow fleet" and its anchor was found by the Swedish navy in January.
The police said the captain, the chief mate and the second mate were suspects.
"The criminal investigation has examined and assessed, among other things, the extent of their responsibility for the condition of the vessel and the degree to which they should have observed the anchor falling into the sea," Detective Chief Inspector Sami Liimatainen said.
The investigation will now be handed over to the prosecutor, who will decide whether and what charges to bring against the suspects.
Several undersea Baltic cables were damaged last year, with many experts calling it part of a "hybrid war" carried out by Russia against Western countries.
Both Sweden and Finland joined NATO following Russia's offensive in Ukraine in 2022, and the military alliance has recently increased its surveillance in the Baltic Sea.
