The Finnish authorities said the tanker might be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which emerged as a way to circumvent Western-imposed price caps on Russian oil transported by sea. The caps were introduced several months after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Police in Finland are investigating what they called "grave sabotage" and have taken command of Eagle S, an oil tanker believed to belong to a so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers which seek to evade Russian sanctions.

Finnish law enforcement officers have stopped the Eagle S vessel, which may have been involved in damaging an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia