As the damage occurred in Finnish waters, Finland is leading the coordination of the repair efforts.

Fingrid, which is coordinating the repairs of the damaged EstLink 2 subsea cable, told ERR it has completed the necessary underwater inspection work.

Efforts are now underway to secure a ship suitable to repair the cable that stopped working on Christmas Day, said Fingrid and its Estonian counterpart Elering.

Kimmo Nepola, head of Fingrid's subsea cables division, told ERR the process of securing a repair vessel and assembling a repair team is ongoing. Last week's seabed inspection was successful, he noted.

"We have a good overview of the extent of the damage and the scale of the repair work required," Nepola said.

Before repair work can begin, preparatory work must be carried out at sea, and that process is already underway, he added.

Elering said a competent repair team and the necessary equipment are also being sought.

When Estlink suffered a fault last January, it took about seven months to complete repairs, costing more than €30 million.

"We are working with Fingrid and other partners to restore the connection as soon as possible. The repair cost is currently unknown, but it can be estimated to be in the tens of millions of euros," said Elering's spokesperson Kätlin Klemmer.

Whether Estlink 2 can be restored by early August, as Fingrid has indicated on the Nord Pool electricity market's urgent market messages page, remains unclear, he noted.

"We will update the timeline as soon as we have more information," Nepola said.

Klemmer said repair work depends on the extent of the cable damage and the availability of a repair vessel.

Fingrid intends to claim damages from the tanker owner

Last Friday, the Helsinki District Court upheld the Finnish authorities' decision to detain the Eagle S oil tanker, suspected of breaking EstLink 2 and several communication cables.

It rejected an appeal from the shipowner and the vessel's crew lawyer.

The tanker's seizure was requested by three Finnish companies — Fingrid, telecommunications firm Elisa, and state-owned network company Cinia — along with Elering, to secure compensation for the costs of repairing the damaged power and internet cables.

Nepola said Fingrid and Elering will initially cover the repair costs. "At the same time, we will protect our rights and claim damages," he said.

Repair work on the communication cables belonging to Elisa and Cinia has already begun.

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