During Christmas Day 2024 at 12:26 UTC, the ESTLINK 2 cable, linking Finland and Estonia with a 658 MW power capacity, experienced a critical outage. Finnish grid operator Fingrid immediately prioritized investigating the fault, collaborating closely with Estonian national grid and authorities. While initially the nearby presence of the container ship Xin Xin Tian 2 was noted, attention quickly turned to the Russian oil tanker 'Eagle S', suspected of dragging its anchor and damaging the cable as well as related communications lines. Investigations by Finnish police, Border Guard, and National Bureau of Investigation included escorting 'Eagle S' to anchorage and conducting underwater seabed surveys that found drag marks and a missing anchor on the tanker. The incident is being treated as aggravated sabotage, highlighting concerns about hostile hybrid warfare tactics targeting critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. This event has spurred calls from analysts and commentators for stronger protective measures against foreign vessels suspected of hostile actions in alliance waters.

During Christmas Day 2024 at 12:26 UTC, the ESTLINK 2 cable, linking Finland and Estonia with a 658 MW power capacity, experienced a critical outage. Finnish grid operator Fingrid immediately prioritized investigating the fault, collaborating closely with Estonian national grid and authorities. While initially the nearby presence of the container ship Xin Xin Tian 2 was noted, attention quickly turned to the Russian oil tanker 'Eagle S', suspected of dragging its anchor and damaging the cable as well as related communications lines. Investigations by Finnish police, Border Guard, and National Bureau of Investigation included escorting 'Eagle S' to anchorage and conducting underwater seabed surveys that found drag marks and a missing anchor on the tanker. The incident is being treated as aggravated sabotage, highlighting concerns about hostile hybrid warfare tactics targeting critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. This event has spurred calls from analysts and commentators for stronger protective measures against foreign vessels suspected of hostile actions in alliance waters.