Thirty-two faults found on detained Russian oil vessel – Finland
Finnish authorities deemed the detained tanker, part of the fleet carrying Russian oil, as not seaworthy after inspections onboard.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, in its statement on January 8, 2025, said that the vessel, Eagle S, which damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea last month, had 32 faults at the conclusion of a Port State Control inspection.
According to the statement, three faults were severe enough to cause the ship to be held back from operation – relating to its fire safety, navigation equipment, and ventilation in its pump room. Traficom said those need to be fixed before the ship can sail.
This week, Finland retrieved the ship’s anchor from the seabed as it probes aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference of communications. The Helsinki District Court ruled on January 3 that Finland is allowed to keep the ship detained.
Bloomberg reported that the vessel, sailing under a Cook Islands flag, has been identified as a member of the so-called shadow fleet transporting Russian petroleum products.
Earlier, editor-in-chief of the BlackSeaNews Andrii Klymenko called on countries not to label oil tankers as “shadow fleet.” According to Klymenko, it is Russia’s real fleet, trading with EU countries to earn funds to sustain its war against Ukraine.
By way of background, on the morning of December 15, two Russian tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, sank in the Kerch Strait. They broke in half, and fuel oil leaked into the water.
Following the tanker accidents, Greenpeace Ukraine warned that the Russian militarization of the Black and Azov Seas is leading to a new environmental disaster.
On December 25, a state of emergency was declared in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai due to fuel oil pollution of the Black Sea coast.
