Moscow Times
🔴 Central
5 Nov 2026
🇫🇮 What is said about Finland
A Helsinki court convicted the Russian captain and Azerbaijani crew member of the Fitburg of aggravated sabotage after the ship damaged two telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia in the Gulf of Finland. They received prison sentences and were ordered to pay about €1.9 million in damages; both deny wrongdoing and have challenged Finland’s jurisdiction. Finland has stepped up protection of its undersea infrastructure.
Quote from article
A Finnish court on Thursday found a Russian ship captain and an Azerbaijani crew member guilty of aggravated sabotage after their vessel, the cargo ship Fitburg, damaged two underwater telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland last year. Finland seized the Fitburg in the Gulf of Finland on Dec. 31 while it was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Israel. Authorities in the Nordic country suspected it purposefully damaged cables running from Finland to nearby Estonia. A judge at the Helsinki District Court sentenced the Russian ship captain to 3 years and 6 months in prison, while the Azerbaijani crew member received 2 years and 10 months. In a statement, the court said the two men acted intentionally when the ship dragged an anchor chain and shank along the seabed for around 130 kilometers (81 miles). The Helsinki District Court also ordered the two men to jointly pay around 1.9 million euros ($2.1 million) in damages. Both the captain and crew member, who have remained in Finland since the Fitburg's seizure and are subject to travel bans, have denied any wrongdoing. They also challenged Finland's jurisdiction in the case. Finland has stepped up efforts to protect its undersea infrastructure following a string of incidents impacting cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea in recent years.
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