US EditionFinnish Police Seize Cargo Ship Fitburg Suspected of Breaking Cables
Finnish authorities detained the vessel to support a criminal probe into possible deliberate damage to a Baltic Sea telecom cable; one crew member was arrested.
- On January 7, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation seized the Fitburg to secure a preliminary investigation into suspected damage to at least one Tallinn–Helsinki subsea telecommunications cable.
- Detained on December 31, the Fitburg was directed into Kantvik after Helsinki Police and Finnish Border Guard started investigating reported cable damage while en route from St. Petersburg to Haifa.
- Investigators found a dragline on the seabed and suspect the ship dragged its anchor for more than six miles, while Traficom's inspection identified ten minor deficiencies and interviewed crewmembers.
- Finnish Customs released the EU‑sanctioned steel cargo on the condition it be removed from Finland and said it will not open a criminal sanctions case, while one crewmember was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention with travel bans on three crewmembers.
- The technicality rests on EU officials saying sanctions prosecution hinges on intent, noting the vessel entered Finnish waters at authorities' request; the joint Finnish–Estonian probe involving Elisa will continue for several weeks.
14 Articles
14 Articles
The Fitburg cargo ship, which is suspected of damaging an underwater telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia on December 31 in the Gulf of Finland, was carrying sanctioned goods to Russia. The ship was delayed, part of the crew was arrested.
Last week, a freighter was stopped for damage to a data cable in the Baltic Sea. Now, the Finnish criminal police are investigating.
abc
On Wednesday, the Finnish Police reported the seizure of a ship suspected of damaging an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea at the end of December 2025, as part of an open criminal investigation.The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) has indicated that the seizure has been carried out ‘to ensure the necessary measures for the criminal investigation’.The cargo of the ship Fitburg was under administrative detention by Customs.
Finnish Police seize cargo ship Fitburg suspected of breaking cables
Finland's National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday seized the cargo ship suspected of breaking cables in the Baltic Sea in Estonia's exclusive economic zone on December 31 to continue its investigation.
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