Eagle S Uncaged, Cables Cut: Cook Is’ Maritime Transparency Show

Aging tanker, €60 million in damages—and a flag state with more questions than answers

On June 3 the usually clandestine Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) issued a rare press statement vowing to “foster… accurate reporting on maritime compliance issues.”  

The reason?  Their own flag‑of‑convenience (FoC) tanker Eagle S had just been released from arrest in the Baltic Sea, so they said. This came against the backdrop of allegations that the Cooks’ FoC is being used to shield oil smuggling operations helping bankroll Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Eagle S under guard - it wouldn’t fit into Avatiu harbour. Photo Finnish Police

This rapprochement comes amid growing allegations that the Cook Islands’ registry is a safe haven for oil smugglers bankrolling Vladimir Putin’s war machine. Ten days after MCI’s glowing statement, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi or KRP) announced suspicions that Eagle S’s master, chief mate and second mate committed aggravated criminal mischief and interference with telecommunications—after allegedly dragging their anchor across the undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia.

That incident dates back to December 25, 2024, when Eagle S left a 100 kilometre gash in the Estlink‑2 cable while steaming westbound from Russia. The Kremlin denied any state‑sponsored sabotage; Finland’s grid operator, Fingrid, puts repairs at €50–60 million. Unsurprisingly, the Cooks, a nation of 15,000 people has shown zero appetite for chipping in.

Finnish police seizing Eagle S

At 19  years old, Eagle S is among the so‑called “shadow fleet”—leaky, poorly insured tankers slurping up Russian oil and delivering it to Asian markets in defiance of Western sanctions.