Finnish authorities have detained a cargo ship that departed Russia, suspecting it damaged an undersea telecommunications cable linking Helsinki and Estonia across the Gulf of Finland.
The case follows a series of recent disruptions to vital subsea infrastructure in the Baltic, including power lines, gas pipelines and data cables. Western officials increasingly describe these incidents as part of a Russian “hybrid war.”
The vessel, the Fitburg, was en route from St Petersburg to Israel when it was stopped, and police are investigating suspected aggravated disruption of telecommunications and aggravated sabotage.
All 14 crew members—nationals of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan—were detained after damage was found to a cable owned by Finnish telecoms firm Elisa, which said services were unaffected. With eight NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea, the shallow seabed has heightened security concerns, prompting NATO to boost patrols with ships, aircraft and naval drones.
The Fitburg
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