Authorities are investigating damage to an undersea communications cable in the Gulf of Finland between the Finnish and Estonian capitals early Wednesday morning.
The border guard said in a statement that Finnish authorities had seized and inspected the vessel suspected of causing the damage.
Anchor was lowered when it was discovered in Finland’s exclusive economic zone.
The Fitburg ship, flying the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, left the Russian port of St. Petersburg, a police spokesperson said.
The ship was heading to Haifa, Israel, according to MarineTraffic data.
Police said 14 crew members are currently in custody for questioning, reporting their nationalities as Russian, Georgian, Kazakh and Azerbaijani.
Helsinki police have opened an investigation into possible aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications.
The cable is owned by telecommunications service provider Elisa and is considered critical underwater infrastructure.
Police said the attack occurred in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone.
Finnish President Alexander Stubbe thanked all agencies involved in the operation in a post to X.
“We are monitoring the situation in close cooperation with the government. Finland is prepared for different types of security challenges and will respond if necessary,” he wrote.
Estonian authorities are working with Finnish authorities to decide whether to file separate criminal cases or proceed with joint prosecution.
Tallinn’s Ministry of Justice said on Wednesday that a second communications cable between Sweden and Finland, operated by Sweden’s Alerion, was also damaged.
similar incident
In December 2024, Finnish authorities boarded the Russian-linked oil tanker Eagle S, which investigators said dragged its anchor onto the ocean floor and damaged power and communication lines in the Baltic Sea.
The case was dismissed by a Finnish court in October because prosecutors could not prove intent.
There are eight NATO member states that border the Baltic Sea, which also shares a border with Russia, and each country is on high alert following a series of accidents that damaged undersea power cables, communications lines, and gas pipelines.
These incidents are generally viewed as deliberate acts of vandalism with suspected Russian ties. encouraged NATO to increase its presence in the region Patrol frigates, aircraft, naval drones, etc.
Additional sources of information • AP
