Finland seizes ship from Russia after suspected cable sabotage | News

New damage to telecommunications cables discovered in Finland’s exclusive economic zone.

Finnish authorities have seized a ship suspected of intentionally cutting underwater telecommunications cables, fearing Russian sabotage in the Gulf of Finland.

The seized cargo ship Fitburg was en route from the Russian port of St. Petersburg to Israel at the time of the incident on Wednesday, Finnish border guard officials said at a news conference in Helsinki.

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The Fitburg was dragging its anchor in the sea and was heading towards Finnish territorial waters, police and border guards said.

Helsinki police have opened an investigation into possible aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications.

The Fitburg’s 14 crew members were from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and were all arrested by Finnish police, investigators said. The ship was sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

“Finland is ready to face security challenges of all kinds and we respond to them if necessary,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a statement.

Part of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland is bordered by Estonia, Finland and Russia. The region has been hit by a series of similar incidents in recent years.

The submarine cable is owned by telecommunications service provider Elisa and is considered critical underwater infrastructure for Finland.

The company said in a statement that the cable damage had “in no way affected the functionality of Elisa’s services,” noting that services had been rerouted. Earlier, Elisa said she detected a fault in her cable and reported it to the Finnish authorities.

NATO has strengthened its presence in the Baltic in recent years with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.

“We remain in contact with the Finnish authorities through the exchange of information through the NATO Maritime Center located at our Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, United Kingdom,” said a military alliance official.

A deliberate act?

Estonia’s Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs said a second telecommunications cable connecting the country to Finland also suffered an outage on Wednesday. It is unclear whether the incidents are related.

“I am concerned about the reported damage. … I hope it is not a deliberate act, but the investigation will clarify it,” Estonian President Alar Karis said on X.

Energy and communications infrastructure, including underwater cables and pipelines, have been damaged in the Baltic Sea in recent years.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many security analysts and political leaders view cable sabotage as part of a “hybrid war” waged by Russia against NATO countries and their allies.

On Christmas Day 2024, the Cook Islands-registered tanker Eagle S cut five cables in the Gulf of Finland after dragging its anchor on the seabed for 90 km (56 miles).

In October, the Helsinki District Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear a case against the ship’s three senior officers. He said it was up to the ship’s flag state or the defendants’ home countries – Georgia and India – to try them.

Finnish prosecutors appealed the decision.