A Cook Islands-registered ship being seized by Finnish authorities over a suspected incident of sabotage “creates a bad look” for New Zealand, an international law professor says.

AFP reported that Finnish authorities seized a Cook Islands-registered ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea, suspecting it caused a power cable outage and damaged or broke four internet lines.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said they were aware of the incident, but New Zealand was not responsible for the management of the Cook Islands shipping registry.

MFAT said New Zealand was concerned about Russia’s use of a “shadow fleet” of vessels to circumvent sanctions.

The Cook Islands self-governs in free association with New Zealand. It conducts its own affairs, but Aotearoa needs to assist when it comes to foreign affairs, disasters and defence.

The situation would not help New Zealand’s relationship with the Cook Islands, University of Waikato law professor Al Gillespie said.

“It creates a bad look when everyone associates the Cook Islands with New Zealand and a Cook Islands vessel gets caught in what may or may not be an act of sabotage in the Baltic,” he said.

“I think New Zealand has got an admirable and a good position on the war in the Ukraine and our sanctions against Russia. We are not neutral we are giving a lot of support to the Ukraine and I believe that’s the right thing to do.

“But it does create an anomaly when a Cook Islands-flagged vessel is engaged or connected to an act which may be an accident or may be sabotage. We’ve got to wait to see how that plays out.”

MFAT said New Zealand shared concerns with the Cook Islands Government over its shipping registry being used to aid Russia’s shadow fleet, and the impact this could have on its international reputation.

It appeared the situation was being taken very seriously, Gillespie said.

“To actually seize the vessel is a forthright act which you don’t normally see unless you’ve got very serious grounds for doing that and that will create a lot of tension with the country which has seized the vessel, and the country which holds its flag which is the Cook Islands.

“So the Cook Islands has now ended up in the middle of a very large international dispute, but at the same time New Zealand is trying to distance itself from the Cook Islands because we’ve got a very clear position that we support the Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.”

In November, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced new chemical weapons and missiles sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

New Zealand joined Australia in the “Call to Action” statement on sanctions-evading “shadow fleet” activities.

In attempting to bypass sanctions, shadow fleet vessels had a pattern of ignoring maritime safety and environmental rules, avoiding insurance costs, and engaging in other unlawful actions, the nations said.

“The ‘shadow fleet’ presents significant threats to all countries,” a statement issued by MFAT at the time said.

Nato to bolster Baltic Sea presence

Finnish police on Saturday moved the ship held over suspicions it sabotaged an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia to help with their investigations.

Since Thursday, Finnish authorities have been investigating the Eagle S tanker, which Helsinki suspects of having Russian connections, as part of a probe into the “aggravated sabotage” of the Estlink 2 submarine cable in the Baltic Sea.

That cable’s disconnection on Christmas Day was the latest in a spate of incidents Western officials believe are acts of sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Cook Islands-flagged ship was then escorted towards the Finnish coast near Porkkala in the south of the Nordic nation.

Finnish police reported the tanker was moved under escort on Saturday to an inner anchorage in Porvoo, a town some 40km east of Helsinki.

“The reason for the transfer is that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has seized Eagle S.”, the police said in a statement.

Investigations on board were to resume once the vessel had anchored again at its new location.

“The new location offers a better option for carrying out investigative measures,” the statement added.

Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The Estlink’s disconnection comes just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic.

Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said on Friday the US-led defence alliance would bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea in response.

Finnish customs suspect the Eagle S to be part of the Russian shadow fleet, referring to ships transporting Russian crude and oil products which are embargoed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

- with AFP