Finland’s Border Guard released a video showing the boarding and seizure of the cargo ship Fitburg, carried out after the vessel was identified as a suspect in damaging a submarine telecommunications cable belonging to the company Elisa.
According to authorities, the ship was escorted under a heavy security presence to the Port of Kantvik on Wednesday.
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The cable damage was recorded at 04:53, triggering a large-scale operation involving border guards, police, and defense forces. Three helicopters took part in the action, one of which deployed a special SIU team from the Finnish Border Guard directly onto the ship.
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Authorities stated that the Fitburg and its entire crew remain under state control. The sailors, including citizens of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, are being held on board while the investigation continues.
The case is being treated as aggravated damage to property and interference with telecommunications, with the pre-trial investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation.
The vessel sails under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and departed from Saint Petersburg on December 30. Authorities confirmed that the ship’s anchor remained in the water for several hours, a circumstance considered relevant to the inquiry. Elisa stated that connectivity was maintained through backup routes, minimizing the immediate impact on users.
On the same day, Estonia and Sweden also reported damage to other submarine fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea. In the Swedish economic zone, a cable operated by Arelion linking Estonia and Sweden was affected.
Authorities recalled that another cable between Finland and Estonia had previously been damaged, heightening regional concerns over the security of critical submarine infrastructure.
Source and images: Rajavartiolaitos – Gränsbevakningsväsendet – Finnish Border Guard (Facebook: rajavartiolaitos). This content was created with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
