Eagle S operation cost Finland nearly €1.4 million

The operation targeting the Eagle S tanker and the resulting preliminary investigation cost the Finnish state nearly €1.4 million, according to a document obtained by Yle.

The document, prepared by the Ministry of the Interior’s director of finance and planning, says police incurred about €1.39 million in additional personnel and other costs. Around 80 per cent of the total came from overtime and working-time compensation because the operation took place over the Christmas holidays.

On Boxing Day in 2024, a police tactical unit and a Border Guard readiness unit boarded and seized the tanker. Authorities suspected it had damaged cables in the Gulf of Finland. The National Bureau of Investigation then launched a broad inquiry into the damage.

The prosecutor charged the ship’s captain and two officers with aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications, seeking unconditional prison sentences of at least two and a half years. The Helsinki District Court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction and that the charges should be heard in courts in the sailors’ home countries or the vessel’s flag state.

The Court of Appeal disagreed, ruling that the Helsinki District Court could hear the case and sending it back there. The defence has now sought leave to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.