Finland Arrests Two Crewmembers and Seizes Cargo from Suspect Freighter
Finland has unleashed a gamut of inspections and is searching for multiple violations aboard the cargo ship Fitburg, which was detained on Wednesday, December 31, over a suspicion of damaging undersea cables. The authorities are saying it is still in the early stages of the investigation, but they have arrested and detained crewmembers and are reporting the vessel’s cargo is suspected of violating European Union sanctions.
The Finnish Border Guard quickly identified the Fitburg as the prime suspect after telecom company Elisa reported damage to one of its undersea cables connecting Finland and Estonia. A Swedish telecom company, Arelion, later reported that it was also experiencing an outage on one of its telecom cables.
Initially, three vessels were identified, but the Finnish authorities focused on Fitburg, a 9,800 dwt vessel managed by a Turkish company and registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines after the vessel was observed sailing from the Estonian EEZ into Finnish waters with its anchor chain down. It was instructed to stop and raise its anchor and then told to move into a Finnish port for an inspection.
Finnish troops were observed fast roping onto the deck of the vessel, and later, under judicial orders, the ship was instructed to move into the port of Kantvik, approximately 20 miles west of Helsinki. Prosecutors obtained court orders to detain the ship on suspicion of “aggravated criminal damage” and attempting to damage telecom cables.
The Helsinki Police have arrested two individuals from the crew of the ship, and two others have been placed under travel bans. The police declined to provide additional information, but confirmed there are 14 crewmembers from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan aboard. They are reported to be cooperating with the investigation, and formal interviews started on January 1.
Shortly after the vessel docked, Finnish Customs boarded the ship and informed the captain that the ship’s cargo had been seized, subject to an inspection. They said it was being checked for sanctions violations.
The ship had departed Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Customs says it has confirmed it was loaded with structural steel, which is under sanctions from the European Union. Customs is continuing a legal investigation and reports it will have a determination by next week on the European Union’s sanctions as they may apply to the cargo.
Finnish Transport also announced that it was commencing a Port State Control Inspection of the vessel. They are checking for compliance with international regulations.
The authorities have also initiated a subsea crime scene investigation. The Border Guard and the Defense Forces are working with the police, and they are coordinating with the Estonian authorities. The cable damage happened in Estonia’s EEZ.
Media reports said the police were seen removing material from the ship late on Wednesday. They are also inspecting the ship’s anchor.
The situation is eerily similar to the investigation that began on Christmas Day 2024, when the shadow fleet tanker Eagle S was also accused of dragging its anchor during a storm in the Baltic. Cables were damaged, and Finland ultimately prosecuted the captain and two crewmembers, charging them with negligence and failing to properly operate their vessel. The ship was held for months before it was released, and the three crewmembers were left off by the Helsinki court, which said the incident happened outside Finland’s area of jurisdiction. The case has been appealed.
Ship seized in Finland suspected of cable damage was carrying sanctioned Russian steel
Countries in the Baltic Sea region have been on high alert following a string of incidents which saw undersea power cables, telecoms links and gas pipelines damaged.
A vessel seized in Finland suspected of damaging an undersea telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn was transporting Russian steel subject to European Union sanctions, Finnish customs officials said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Finnish police detained the Fitburg, a 132-metre-long cargo ship en route from St Petersburg in Russia to the Israeli port of Haifa.
Its 14 crew members were also detained following suspicion the ship's anchor had damaged the telecoms cable in the Gulf of Finland.
"Preliminary information indicated that the cargo consisted of steel products originating in Russia, which are subject to extensive sanctions imposed on Russia," Finnish Customs said in a statement.
The agency had carried out an inspection of the ship's cargo late on Wednesday.
"According to the assessment of experts at Finnish Customs, the structural steel in question falls under the EU's sectoral sanctions," it said.
"Import of such sanctioned goods into the EU is prohibited under EU sanctions regulations."
Finnish Customs said it was still investigating "the applicability of EU sanctions legislation to this case."
The steel remained impounded pending clarification, it said, and Finnish Customs has opened a preliminary inquiry "with a view to launching a pre-trial investigation into a potential sanctions violation."
Finnish police said on Wednesday they were investigating the damaged cable incident as "aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications."
'Hybrid war'
The Fitburg is flagged from St Vincent and Grenadines and its 14 crew members - from Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - were detained and are to be questioned by Finnish police.
Two of the crew members were placed under arrest on Thursday and two others were placed under a travel ban, police said, refusing to disclose their nationalities or roles in the crew.
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 experts and political leaders have viewed the suspected cable sabotage as part of a "hybrid war" carried out by Russia against Western countries.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that Europe "remains vigilant" as its critical infrastructure was "at high risk of sabotage".
"The EU will continue to fortify its critical infrastructure, including by investing in new cables, strengthening surveillance, ensuring more repair capacity, and moving against Moscow's shadow fleet, which also acts as a launchpad for hybrid attacks," she wrote on X.
The cable damaged Wednesday is owned by Finnish telecoms group Elisa and located in Estonia's exclusive economic zone. Elisa said its services were rerouted and the damage did not impact customers.
Similar incidents
In December 2024, Finnish authorities boarded the Russian-linked oil tanker Eagle S which investigators said had damaged a power cables and telecommunications links in the Baltic Sea by dragging its anchor along the seabed.
That case was dismissed by a Finnish court in October after prosecutors failed to prove intent.
There are eight NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea, which also borders Russia, and they have been on high alert following a string of incidents which saw undersea power cables, telecoms links and gas pipelines damaged.
Those incidents have generally been regarded as deliberate acts of sabotage suspected of being linked to Russia and have prompted NATO to boost its presence in the region with patrol frigates, aircraft and naval drones.
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