Eagle S

Last updated

Crude oil tanker Eagle S at Porvoo 2024-12-31 a.jpg
Eagle S off Porvoo, Finland, on 31 December 2024
History
Name
  • FR8 Pride (2006–2012)
  • LR Mimosa (2012–2015)
  • Norstar Intrepid (2015–2023)
  • Eagle S (2023–present)
Port of registry
OrderedAugust 2004
BuilderNew Century Shipyard (Jingjiang, China) [1]
Yard number0307310
Laid down20 December 2004
Launched28 August 2005
Completed16 March 2006
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [2]
Type Crude oil and oil products tanker
Tonnage
  • 42,010  GT
  • 22,444  NT
  • 74,035  DWT
Displacement89,381 t (87,969 long tons)
Length228.6 m (750 ft 0 in)
Beam32.3 m (106 ft 0 in)
Draught14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
Installed power MAN-B&W 5S60MC-C (11,300 kW)
PropulsionSingle shaft with fixed pitch propeller
Speed
  • 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) (maximum)
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (service)
Capacity
  • 12 cargo tanks
  • 81,320 m3 (511,500 bbl)
Crew24

Eagle S is a crude oil and oil products tanker that sails under the flag of the Cook Islands. [3] The ship is operated by Caravella LLC-FZ, a company registered in the United Arab Emirates; [4] she comprises its entire fleet. [5] It was originally built in China for the Singapore company FR8 Holdings PTE Ltd in 2006, which operated it under the name FR8 Pride. [6] Later the ship has also served under the names LR Mimosa and Norstar Intrepid.

Contents

Description

Eagle S is a crude oil and oil products tanker with a deadweight tonnage of 74,035 tonnes (72,866 long tons) and 12 cargo tanks that have a combined volumetric capacity of 81,320 cubic metres (511,500 bbl) at 98% filling. The ship is 228.6 metres (750 ft 0 in) long, 32.3 metres (106 ft 0 in) wide, and has a displacement of 89,381 tonnes (87,969 long tons) when loaded to the maximum draught of 14.5 metres (47 ft 7 in). The ship has a crew of 24. [2]

Like most oil tankers, Eagle S is powered by a single low-speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine driving a fixed pitch propeller. The ship's five-cylinder MAN-B&W 5S60MC-C main engine, manufactured by Hudong Heavy Machinery under license, is rated at 11,300 kilowatts (15,200 hp) when running at 105 rpm. This propulsion system gives Eagle S a maximum speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph). When running at a service speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), the ship burns 35 tonnes (39 short tons) of fuel oil per day. In addition, the ship has three 900-kilowatt (1,200 hp) auxiliary diesel generators to produce electrical power. [2]

The ship was built at New Century Shipyard in Jingjiang, China. It was laid down on 20 December 2004, launched on 28 August 2005, and delivered on 16 March 2006. [2]

Incidents

2012 collision

On 2 May 2012, FR8 Pride collided with the mobile drill rig Rowan EXL I in the Aransas Pass after the tanker's engine had failed. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board estimated the resulting damage to be 16–17 million US dollars. [7]

2014 oil spill

On 25 September 2014, the tanker, now under the name LR Mimosa and operated under charter by the Panamax International Shipping Corporation, [8] cut connections to a monobuoy terminal in Quintero Bay off Chile, causing an oil spill. [9] An estimated 39 metric tons (38 long tons ; 43 short tons ) of crude oil entered Quintero Bay during the incident. [8]

In late 2023, Eagle S was inspected at the Port of Tema in Ghana, two months after having been sold to Caravella LLC-FZ in the UAE. Survey inspectors listed 24 defects and shortcomings which led to the ship's temporary detention. The vessel had to pass reinspection before a classification certificate could be issued. [10]

2024 cable-cutting incident

Early in the morning of 25 December 2024, Eagle S, now under management of the Peninsular Maritime India company and with an Indian safety management certificate from September 2024, left the Russian port of Ust-Luga with a load of unleaded gasoline, which was, according to press research, destined for Aliağa, Turkey. The captain was a 39-year-old Georgian national, who had joined the crew in October. [11] At 10:26 GMT (12:26 Finland time), she crossed the Estlink 2 submarine cable beneath the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, the Finnish electricity transmission grid operator, Fingrid, reported a power outage on the cable. [4]

Early the next morning, the ship, which is believed to be part of the Russian shadow fleet, [12] was boarded by Finnish police and border guards who took control of the vessel. She was then escorted to Porkkalanniemi where she was found to be missing one of her anchors. [13] On 28 December, Eagle S was moved to a position off Porvoo near Helsinki to help with the investigation. [14]

Investigators checking in the Indian Register of Shipping found no valid insurance for the ship at the time of the incident, with the last policy (with Ingosstrakh) having expired in August 2024. [15] Based on an anonymous source, Lloyd's List reported that Eagle S was, at one point, carrying additional electronic surveillance equipment to record information on NATO ships and that an individual, who was not a seafarer, had been identified on board. [16] On 31 December 2024, Detective Inspector Elina Katajamäki of the Central Criminal Police stated that the police had conducted an extensive investigation on board and had not found any surveillance equipment. [17]

The ship was not on the list of 79 vessels sanctioned by the European Union at the time. [18]

By 29 December, Finnish investigators had documented the drag line on the seabed over "several tens of kilometers", but had to postpone the investigation due to bad weather. At this stage they had not been able to locate the anchor missing from Eagle S. [19]

On 30 December, an application was filed to the Helsinki District Court  [ fi ], in which the UAE-based shipping company of the Eagle S, Caravella, [20] seeks to overturn the seizure by the Finnish authorities. [21] Maritime attorney Herman Ljungberg, [22] representing the entire crew of the ship, strongly criticised the actions of the authorities to Helsingin Sanomat based on his conversation with the ship's captain. Ljungberg claims, that according to the captain, the situation is stressful and the crew is starving. He said that the crew has been interrogated without legal assistance, kept hungry and in one room, and not allowed to sleep. [23] The allegations have been denied by the police. [24] The Helsinki District Court rejected the application on 3 January 2025. [25]

On 31 December, out of a complement of 24 seamen, [26] seven crewmembers, suspected of criminal activities, were forbidden to leave the country. Additionally, the police published pictures of the ship's hull below the water line, showing chipped paint and bare metal. The damage is suspected to have been caused by the ship's own anchor chain. [27] The number of crewmembers restricted by a travel ban was increased to eight by 2 January 2025, [28] a ninth crewmember got listed as a suspect by 13 January 2025. [29]

In addition to the criminal case and port inspection detaining her, Fingrid has initiated civil litigation for the cost of the submarine power cable repair. [21] On 2 January, the company requested the seizure of Eagle S to secure its claims. [28] The ships cargo, some 35,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol, was also seized to investigate a violation of sanctions. [29]

On 7 January 2025 the crew of the Swedish Armed Forces vessel HSwMS Belos (A214) located the missing anchor of Eagle S in a depth of 80 metres (300 feet) towards the end of a 100 kilometres (62 mi) [30] drag line on the course Eagle S had taken before. The 11,000 kg (24,251 lb) [30] anchor was recovered and handed over to Finnish investigators. It showed damage, with one fluke missing. [31] [32]

A safety inspection report by Finnish authorities published on 8 January found 32 deficiencies with Eagle S. The report named several major shortcomings, like problems concerning fire safety, with doors not working properly, valves in the main firefighting pipelines stuck and errors in the alarm system. The tankers S band radar did not work. The pump room for the ships cargo had no working ventilation. Due to the poor condition of the tanker, the inspectors requested an ISM assessment, before the ship will be allowed to leave. [33]

On 13 January, Risto Lohi, the head of the Finnish investigation said that when the tanker was boarded the crew had been 'poised to cut more cables'. [34]

An attempt by the owner company Caravella LLC-FZ to get the recovered anchor back from investigators was dismissed by the Helsinki district court on 15 January. The company's Finnish attorney estimated the cost of running the tanker while it is sitting idle in Finnisch waters to be €14,500 per day. He said his client should be reimbursed the money, and indicated that the company may be inclined to abandon the ship. [35]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "FR8 Pride Shipping Corp. et al, No. 2:2012cv00185 - Document 11 (S.D. Tex. 2012)" law.justia.com, 18 June 2012, retrieved 26 December 2024
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eagle S (9329760)" . Sea-web. S&P Global . Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Ship EAGLE S (Crude Oil Tanker)". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  4. 1 2 Lehto, Essi; Sytas, Andrius (26 December 2024). "Finland boards oil tanker suspected of causing internet, power cable outages". Reuters. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "CARAVELLA LLC-FZ - Owners / Managers". MagicPort. 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  6. ↑ "Singapore Shipping Association Annual Review 2009/2010"" (PDF). ssa.org.sg. p. 55. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "NTSB Releases Marine Accident Brief on Collision of Oil Tanker with Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit". The Maritime Executive. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Arbitration between LR Mimosa Ltd and Panamax" (PDF). freehill.com. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Tanker Causes Oil Spill in Chile". maritime-executive.com. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "Serious safety flaws uncovered in past inspection of Eagle S vessel". yle.fi. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Feoktistov, Egor (26 December 2024). "Finland Suspects a Ship From the Russian Shadow Fleet of a New Cable Damage in the Baltic Sea. IStories Found Its Captain". IStories. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  12. ↑ Milne, Richard (26 December 2024). "Finland probes Russian shadow fleet oil tanker after cable-cutting incident" . Financial Times. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Yle: Russian shadow fleet tanker in the area when Estlink 2 goes offline". ERR. 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "Estlink 2 damage suspect Eagle S taken to Porvoo". Daily Finland. 28 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  15. ↑ Bockmann, Michelle Wiese (26 December 2024). "Finland police seize Russian-linked dark fleet tanker Eagle S in cable-cutting investigation". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  16. ↑ Bockmann, Michelle Wiese (27 December 2024). "Russia-linked cable-cutting tanker seized by Finland 'was loaded with spying equipment'". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  17. ↑ Karvinen, Eevi (2024-12-31). "Näin poliisi kommentoi hurjaa lehtiväitettä Eagle S:n laitteista. Poliisi ei kertomansa mukaan ole löytänyt öljytankkerilta lehtiväitteiden mukaisia vakoilulaitteita" [This is how the police commented on the wild press report about the Eagle S devices. The police say they have not found any of the alleged spying devices on the oil tanker.]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-01-08. Keskusrikospoliisi kumoaa lehtiväitteet siitä, että Eagle S -öljytankkeri olisi varustettu vakoilulaitteistolla. Olemme tehneet aluksella nyt laajaa tutkintaa, eikä havaintoja kuvatun kaltaisista laitteista ole tehty, rikoskomisario Elina Katajamäki kertoo Iltalehdelle sähköpostitse. Merenkulkua seuraava verkkojulkaisu Lloyd's List on väittänyt laivan olevan "täynnä" erilaisia meri- ja lentoliikenteen kuunteluun tarkoitettuja kuuntelulaitteita.[The Central Criminal Police refute press allegations that the Eagle S oil tanker was equipped with spy equipment. We have now conducted an extensive investigation on board, and no such devices as described have been found, criminal inspector Elina Katajamäki tells Iltalehdelle by email. Lloyd's List, an online publication that follows shipping, has claimed that the ship was "full" of various listening devices for maritime and air traffic.]
  18. ↑ "Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/3187 of 16 December 2024 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine", eur-lex.europa.eu, 2024-12-16, retrieved 2024-12-28
  19. ↑ "Poliisi: Keskusrikospoliisi jatkaa kaapelivaurioiden tutkintaa" [Police: National Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate cable damage]. Rajavartiolaitos [Finnish Border Guard] (Press release) (in Finnish). 2024-12-29. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  20. ↑ "Finland Court Upholds Oil Tanker Seizure; Subsea Cable Sabotage Probe Continues". MarineLink. January 3, 2025.
  21. 1 2 ""Dark Fleet" Tanker Faces Civil and Criminal Cases in Finland". The Maritime Executive. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  22. ↑ "Herman Ljungberg - Global Law Experts". globallawexperts.com. 2023. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  23. ↑ "Eagle S | Varustamon asianajaja arvostelee viranomaisia kovin sanoin – HS sai miehistön jäsenen Intiaan lähettämän avunpyynnön" [Eagle S | The shipping company's lawyer criticizes the authorities in strong words - HS received a request for help sent to India by a crew member]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2024-12-30. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  24. ↑ "Eagle S:n asianajaja kritisoi voimakkaasti Suomen viranomaisia – poliisi kiistää: "Kyllä siellä on syödä ja juoda voinut"" [Eagle S's lawyer strongly criticizes Finnish authorities - police deny: "Yes, it was possible to eat and drink there"]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2024-12-30. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  25. ↑ "Court upholds NBI's decision on seizure of Eagle S". dailyfinland.fi. 2025-01-04. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  26. ↑ "Traficom aloittaa Eagle S -laivan tarkastuksen tänään – Myös pieni huoltoalus lähti kohti Porvoota" [Traficom begins inspection of Eagle S today – A small supply vessel also departed for Porvoo]. hs.fi (in Finnish). 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  27. ↑ "Seitsemän Eagle S -aluksen miehistön jäsentä määrätty matkustuskieltoon, kertoo krp" [Seven members of the crew of the Eagle S ship have been banned from traveling, says Krp]. hs.fi (in Finnish). 2024-12-30. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  28. 1 2 "NBI: Eight Eagle S crew given travel bans, more could follow". yle.fi. 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  29. 1 2 "Eagle S investigation expands as ninth suspect identified". helsinkitimes.fi. 2025-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  30. 1 2 "Traficom finds 32 deficiencies in Eagle S". Daily Finland. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  31. ↑ "Authorities recover Eagle S anchor from Gulf of Finland". yle.fi. 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  32. ↑ "Suspected Sabotage Ship's Anchor Shows Signs of Extreme Damage". maritime-executive.com. 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  33. ↑ "Yksityiskohtainen lista: Tämä kaikki on vialla Eagle S -tankkerissa" [Detailed list: This is everything wrong with the Eagle S tanker]. mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2025-01-08. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
  34. ↑ Anne Kauranen. "Oil tanker sabotage crew were poised to cut more cables when caught, Finland says". www.reuters.com. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  35. ↑ Joonas Alanne; Jussi Korhonen; Janne Niiranen. "Eagle S -asianajaja ihmettelee oikeuden päätöstä: "Miksei siellä selkeää suomen kieltä ymmärretä"" [Eagle S lawyer wonders about the court's decision: "Why can't people understand clear Finnish there?"]. iltalehti.fi. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
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