The 650-megawatt Estlink 2 was shut down after damage caused by the trailing anchor from oil tanker the Eagle S. on Christmas Day last year.

From February until now, preparations were made to repair the damaged section, which was lifted from the seabed and cut out.

The remaining cable was tested to ensure it was intact. Work was also done to assess repair needs and minimize risks.

Reconnection will involve replacing the damaged section with a new submarine cable, laid on the seabed over about one kilometer, using a pre-made spare cable and repair joints.

The work is expected to cost €50–€60 million, shared equally by Elering and Finnish counterpart Fingrid.

Both companies had told ERR the repair cost would be similar to the previous Estlink 2 failure, also last year, which left the cable offline for seven months and cost over €30 million.

Elering stated in a press release that higher costs are due to using a general-purpose construction vessel owned by a third party. This option was chosen for speed instead of waiting for a specialized cable-laying ship.

The vessel must be specially adapted to Estlink 2's technical requirements.

Using the usual repair vessel would delay completion until the end of the year, Elering added.

Elering says it is using congestion income — funds meant to maintain and increase cross-border transmission — to cover the costs.

Once repairs are complete and tests passed, the Estlink 2 connection will return to market use, Elering said.

The July 15 return date is more than two weeks earlier than the original August 1 estimate.

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