The captain and another crew member of the seized oil tanker suspected of damaging an electric power cable in the Baltic Sea last month are Georgian nationals.
Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency told RFE/RL on January 6 that according to the ship's registry and "relevant partner agencies" in Finland, the two are part of the crew of the Eagle S, which was detained by Finnish authorities last month to help secure a financial claim for damages related to the breakdown of the undersea Estlink 2 electricity interconnector.
The cable between Finland and Estonia was suddenly disconnected from the grid on December 25 along with telecommunications lines. The Cook Islands-flagged Eagle S was detained by Finnish authorities and is being held in Finnish waters in the Baltic Sea pending an investigation.
The incident, one of several since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has raised concerns across Europe that energy and communications infrastructure are being targeted as part of what experts and politicians call Russia's hybrid war with Western countries.
"A representative of the Georgian Embassy has already communicated with them [the two crew members]," the Maritime Transport Agency said.
"[We] will await the completion of the investigation and will discuss further steps in accordance with the results," it added.
Investigators have said they found a track on the seabed dozens of kilometers long indicating the ship dragged its anchor, but they have yet to find the anchor.
According to the global ship monitoring website MarineTraffic, the ship significantly reduced speed at the same time interference was detected in the electrical power cable.
The owner of the vessel, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, has previously asked Finnish authorities to release it. The company has not responded to Fingrid's request to seize the vessel.
Moscow has said it has no connection to the Eagle S and Finland's seizure of the vessel is not a matter for Russia. It has regularly denied that it is involved in any of the other incidents involving Baltic Sea region infrastructure assets.
NATO announced it will strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea following the damage caused to the Estlink 2 and similar incidents since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The same day -- December 26 -- that Finnish authorities boarded and took command of the Eagle S, the European Commission said an unnamed cargo ship suspected of having deliberately damaged power and Internet cables in the Baltic Sea was part of Russia's "shadow fleet."
The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters.
Investigators have said the damage to the Estlink 2 and the telecommunications cables could have been caused by the ship intentionally dragging its anchor.
The security chief for Finnish telecommunications operator Elisa echoed that assessment on January 6, telling AFP that the damaged cables appeared to have been severed by an anchor.
"There is compelling evidence of the Eagle S at the site," Jaakko Wallenius said, adding that it is up to law enforcement to determine who was responsible.
Wallenius said two of the damaged telecommunications cables had been repaired. One of the others is expected to be fixed by January 10, its operator said. It was unclear when the Estlink 2 power cable would be fixed.