US EditionUndersea Cable Sabotage: Finnish Police Investigate
Authorities suspect the Fitburg cargo ship caused severe damage to a key undersea telecom cable, disrupting Elisa’s data connection; a multiweek investigation is underway.
- Finnish police sought pre-trial remand for one detained Fitburg crew member, an Azerbaijani national, who will appear in court on Saturday; the Fitburg remains seized at Kantvik, Kirkkonummi.
- The Fitburg, sailing from Russia to Israel, is accused of striking a telecommunications cable with its anchor, suspected of damaging Elisa's undersea link between Helsinki and Tallinn, prompting Finnish authorities to seize the vessel.
- Finland's National Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe, and the Fitburg, cargo vessel docked in Kirkkonummi, is held in Kantvik for on-board evidence collection.
- Two detained crew members were held shortly after the incident, police said, and three of the Fitburg's 14-person crew now face travel bans including a Russian national.
- Authorities are treating the incident as suspected aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage and aggravated data interference, and prosecutors said charges may be updated as the investigation progresses; officials declined to disclose the Azerbaijani national's specific role to protect pre-trial integrity.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Finnish police investigate a cargo ship suspected of causing significant damage to a telecommunications cable connecting Helsinki to Tallinn The ship from Russia suspected of having
The Finnish Coast Guard has released a video of the crew of the Fitburg, a ship suspected of deliberately dragging its anchor along the seabed and damaging a communications cable connecting Finland and Estonia. It turned out to be a Russian “shadow fleet” vessel carrying sanctioned Russian steel.
All 14 crew members have also been detained, as they suspect that the ship's anchor damaged a telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland.
Finnish authorities have released a video of an operation in which special forces troops storm a ship from helicopters that has severed communication cables between Estonia and Finland.
The cargo ship Fitsburg, en route from St. Petersburg in Russia, was stopped after it was suspected of having severed a data communication cable.
A broken cable from Finland: the guilty from Azerbaijan and Russia: EADaily
EADaily, January 3rd, 2026. The Finnish police are continuing the investigation into the breakage of a telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland. The local Coast Guard detained the cargo ship Fitburg. One crew member was banned from leaving the country, and they want to put the other in custody.
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