Russian captain convicted of cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea

A Russian ship captain has been convicted of deliberately damaging undersea cables on the seabed of the Gulf of Finland.

He has been sentenced to prison in Finland along with one other officer.

On New Year’s Eve 2025, the vessel Fitburg dragged an anchor along the seabed between Estonia and Finland. Two data communication cables were severed and eight connection stations were damaged. Shortly afterwards, the vessel was ordered to dock at a Finnish port.

The anchor had been dragged for at least 13 mil and passed further cables and a gas pipeline. Helsinki District Court ruled that this was done deliberately and regarded it as gross sabotage. The ship’s Russian captain has been sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment and an Azerbaijani crew member to two years and ten months’ imprisonment, reports Yle.

Both have also been ordered to pay, jointly and severally, compensation for the repair and investigation costs relating to the damaged cables.

The Fitburg was sailing under the flag of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a so-called flag of convenience. The 132-metre-long cargo ship had most recently come from St Petersburg in Russia and had been flagged by organisations that monitor international sanctions and compliance with them.

Finnish customs seized the ship’s cargo of steel on suspicion of sanctions violations.

^{Cover image: The vessel Fitburg was seized by the authorities in Finland. Archive image. Photo: Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva/AP/TT}