HELSINKI (Reuters) -The captain and two officers of an oil tanker accused of severing five undersea power and telecoms cables when their vessel left Russia and sailed through the Gulf of Finland in late 2024 will stand trial in Helsinki on Monday.

Investigators have concluded that the Eagle S dragged its anchor along the seabed, severing the Estlink 2 power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, and four internet lines, leading Finnish security forces to interrupt the vessel’s journey and board it from helicopters after ordering it to move into Finnish territorial waters.

The three defendants have denied all charges, and the captain told Finnish public broadcaster YLE the incident was “a marine accident”.

NATO allies around the Baltic Sea went on high alert following the incident, one of

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