THE POLICE of Finland have confirmed the criminal investigation into the Estlink 2 cable ruptures has continued with the forensic analysis of the recently recovered anchor.
Forensic analysis of the anchor aims to verify that it belongs to the tanker Eagle S, which remains under seizure by Finnish authorities.
The anchor raised during the joint operation by authorities on 6 January, and measures approximately 4 meters in length, 2.5 meters in width, and weighs 11 tons, authorities confirmed.
Authorities revealed the technical examination will focus on the question of when the anchor became detached from its chain.
The location where the anchor was found is near the place where Finnish authorities instructed Eagle S to raise the anchor it had been dragging.
According to tactical leader, detective superintendent Risto Lohi of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), “If the anchor only came loose during the hoisting, it is likely that the anchor could have caused further damage to the seabed infrastructure if the vessel had continued its journey”.
Police said the sequence of events leading up to the cable ruptures is “already quite clear” in a technical sense, but that there is still a lot of technical data storage media to be analysed.
Underwater investigations have determined the length of the drag trace on the seabed to be approximately 100 kilometres, with analysis on the trace to continue.
