FINNISH police have seized a cargo ship, suspected of causing significant damage to an undersea telecoms cable.
The vessel – named The Fitburg – was on its way to Israel when it was detained in the Baltic Sea.
After departing from St Petersburg on December 30, the Fitburg was suspected of damaging an undersea cable that connects Finland to Estonia, belonging to Finnish telecoms group Elisa.
The ship was stopped by border guards off the coast of Porkkala, in Finland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, after a fault in the fiber-optic cable was reported.
On Wednesday, police said that “Finnish authorities had taken control of the vessel as a part of a joint operation”.
Fourteen crew members from Russia, Georgia, Kazakh and Azerbaijan were also taken into custody.
PLENTY OF CHANGE!
Hilarious moment bank robbers in brazen ‘£30m’ Xmas heist PAY for parking
SHEER DROP
Moment four men cling to boat on 130ft dam as rescuers race against time
The ship has since been taken to an anchorage point, and has yet to be investigated.
On Wednesday, a military alliance spokesperson declined to comment on the ship’s seizure.
Police say the Fitburg was sailing under the flag of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Finland’s Border Guard, the vessel was dragging its anchor along the seabed where the cable is believed to be damaged.
It was later directed to dock in Finnish territorial waters.
“At this stage, the police are investigating the incident as aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications,” a police spokesperson said.
Estonia’s justice ministry said a second telecoms cable connecting the country to Finland had also experienced a significant outage on New Year’s Eve.
It remains unclear if the second cable run by Arelion – a Swedish company – runs alongside the Elisa cable.
The company has been preparing to begin the physical repair work, but has been delayed due to adverse weather conditions in the region.
According to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, the ongoing situation is being monitored.
In a statement on social media platform X, he wrote: “Finland is prepared for various security challenges and responds to them in the manner the situation requires”.
Eight Nato countries alongside Russia that border the Baltic Sea have been put on high alert, following the string of power cable outages.
In early December, the EU adopted a new spate of sanctions, targeted at companies and individuals accused of helping the Kremlin bypass oil trade restrictions, subsequently helping Russia to operate a “shadow fleet” of vessels.
Numerous interruptions have been tracked on telecoms links and gas pipelines that all run along the relatively shallow seabed, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The outages all had alleged links to Kremlin hybrid operations.
Moscow has denied the accusations, saying they were fabrications by the West to justify anti-Russian rhetoric.
In recent years, Nato has boosted its presence in the Baltic region, using frigates, aircraft and naval drones.
This development comes after Finnish authorities boarded the Russian-linked oil tanker Eagle S last year.
Investigators said the ship had damaged a power cable and several telecoms links in the Baltic Sea by also dragging its anchor.
In October, a Finnish court dismissed the criminal charge against the Eagle S captain and fellow crew members, ruling that prosecutors had failed to prove intent.
The court also said any alleged negligence must be pursued by the ship’s flag state or the crew’s home countries.