Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has completed its investigation into the case of the oil tanker Eagle S. The Cook Islands-flagged ship is suspected of wrecking information infrastructure under the Gulf of Finland last Christmas.
The shipping company's lawyer, Herman Ljungberg, confirmed the news to Yle’s Swedish-language service on Friday.
The Eagle S is suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 power cable and four telecommunication cables between Finland and Estonia by dragging its anchor for more than 100km.
Also on Friday, Fingrid said that the EstLink 2 connection should be back online on June 25, earlier than expected.
Finnish authorities impounded the ship immediately after the damage. The vessel was released in early March after police completed the initial phase of their preliminary investigation.
Then there were three
Three crew members are now suspected of serious crimes, down from an initial list of nine suspects.
Those suspected of involvement are the ship's captain, first officer and second officer. They have been blocked from leaving Finland since the start of the investigation.
The crew included Georgian and Indian citizens, but the NBI has not specified the nationalities of the suspects. The ship's Georgian captain, Davit Vadatchkoria, spoke to Yle in January.
Yle Svenska has learned that the crew members are suspected of aggravated sabotage and aggravated disruption of telecommunications traffic.
The NBI has has forwarded its investigation to a prosecutor, who will decide whether to press charges for the suspected crimes.
According to Ljungberg, preliminary trial dates have been set. Based on information obtained by Yle Svenska, a possible trial could begin in late August or early September.