Finnish authorities seize cargo ship after undersea cable cut in Gulf of Finland

Finnish police seized a 132-meter cargo ship, the Fitburg, on Wednesday after it severed an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland, an act investigators said they suspect was sabotage. The ship, sailing under the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was en route from St.

Petersburg to Haifa when it damaged the cable linking Helsinki and Tallinn around 5 a.m. Finnish authorities said the damaged section lay in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone. Elisa, the Finnish telecom company that operates the cable, said service was not disrupted because its network is designed with multiple routes.

Details about the cable’s depth and thickness were not available. Finnish officials said the Fitburg was intercepted in Finnish waters with its anchor lowered into the sea. A Border Guard tactical team rappelled onto the ship from helicopters and took custody of the vessel and its 14 crew members, who are citizens of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Authorities said they were investigating the incident as “aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications.” Estonia’s president, Alar Karis, said on social media that he hoped it had not been deliberate and that Estonian and Finnish officials were cooperating.

Key Topics

Business, World, Maritime, Telecom, Finland, Estonia, Russia