Finnish authorities have seized the cargo vessel Fitburg in connection with damage to a submarine telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn in the Gulf of Finland. The ship, traveling from Russia to Israel and flagged under St. Vincent and Grenadines, was intercepted by Finland’s Border Guard’s patrol ship Turva, with helicopter support, after the cable damage was detected earlier in the day. Fourteen crew members—comprising nationals from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan—were taken into police custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
The damaged cable, located in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone, has raised suspicions of aggravated disruption and possible sabotage, according to Helsinki Chief of Police Jari Liukku. Finnish authorities responded rapidly, and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has been in direct contact with Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Kristen Michal, to coordinate the response. Estonian President Alar Karis voiced concern over the incident, stressing the importance of clarifying whether it was intentional.
This event comes amid heightened regional tensions, with NATO members around the Baltic Sea remaining on alert following numerous unexplained outages of undersea power and telecom cables since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation, while NATO has increased its presence in the region to counter potential hybrid threats such as sabotage and cyberattacks. Cooperation between Finnish and Estonian authorities remains ongoing as the investigation continues.
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