Finnish police have imposed a travel ban on seven crew members of the Eagle S, the shadow fleet tanker suspected of deliberately dragging its anchor over cables linking Estonia and Finland.
The National Bureau of Investigation announced over the New Year that it had continued its investigation of the seafloor where an electricity cable linking the two Baltic countries was severed and interviewing the crew.
”A travel ban is a less severe coercive measure limiting personal freedom than apprehension and arrest, and it is imposed to ensure that the criminal investigation is not compromised and that the parties can be reached during the investigation,” said Detective Chief Inspector Elina Katajamaki of the National Bureau of Investigation.
“However, further information is gathered as the investigation goes on, so it is possible that the number of those subjected to a travel ban will change.”
Eagle S is currently at anchor in Finnish waters where it was taken shortly after Finland’s national border guard, police and armed services boarded it.
A lawyer representing the Eagle S owners has accused Finnish authorities of hijacking the vessel and is demanding its release.
According to Reuters, Finnish lawyer Herman Ljungberg representing Caravella LLC FZ, has demanded the release of the vessel saying the crew of mainly Indian nationals are being denied sleep and having toilet visits and meals supervised.
Finnish media report that the vessel’s master is from Georgia, but the lawyer has been unable to board the tanker.
Meanwhile, the Finnish coastguard reported that a product tanker which suffered engine problems in the Gulf of Finland has made repairs and is underway again.
According to vessel tracking data, the Panama-flagged 50,548-dwt Jazz (built 2008) is in the Eastern part of the Gulf and heading to Ust-Luga in Finland.
