The Finnish authorities accuse the Eagle S tanker, which was carrying Russian gasoline, of having cut off the Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia. The ship itself was released and the captain and two assistants remained under investigation. The captain declares that he sees no fault, but the Finns themselves could have set a fire on the ship.
The Finnish military seized the Eagle S tanker in the neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland on Christmas — after the power cable break was discovered. Captain David Vadachkoria told Svenska Yle that in international waters the Finnish authorities have only a limited right to give orders to merchant vessels, but decided to follow the order of the coast Guard ship.
"Turva had a weapon. Why would I risk my crew, ship and cargo? I had no reason to run away," Vadachkoria said.
In his opinion, the armed Finnish security forces had no idea how to land safely on a tanker, and could have caused a disaster when they landed on helicopters in full combat gear.: they did not follow strict instructions, which almost led to static electricity and sparks.
"It was a serious violation of maritime safety. We obeyed all their orders. They had no reason to be so aggressive," the tanker's captain believes.
The Finnish military did not submit a court decision and did not say why they boarded the ship, Vadachkoria noted.
The captain and assistants are accused of disrupting and interfering with communications under aggravating circumstances. As noted by Svenska Yle, Deputy Prosecutor General of Finland Jukki Rappe believes that the actions of the captain were intentional.
David Vadachkoria disagrees with this."Should the crew have noticed that the anchor was trailing the ship for 90 kilometers? Yes, says Prosecutor Jukka Rappe. No, says Captain Vadachkoria," the newspaper writes. It added that the captain of Eagle S generally raises the question of whether a Finnish court can prosecute him for what happened outside Finland.