Finland jails Fitburg captain and crew member over cable damage
The Helsinki District Court imposed prison sentences and a €1.9 million damages order after finding the pair intentionally dragged an anchor along the seabed.
Finland’s Helsinki District Court sentenced the Russian captain of the cargo ship Fitburg to three years and six months in prison and an Azerbaijani crew member to two years and 10 months on Thursday, November 5, 2026, over damage to two telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland. Reuters described the conviction as aggravated sabotage; Deutsche Welle called it aggravated criminal damage.
What the court said about the Fitburg’s anchor
The court said the two acted intentionally as the ship dragged its anchor chain and anchor shank along the seabed for about 130 kilometres, Reuters reported. It ordered the men to pay about €1.9 million in damages jointly, with the captain liable for about €85,000 more. The damaged cables connected Helsinki with Estonia, Reuters reported; DW identifies the route as linking Helsinki and Tallinn.
The cables were damaged last year, according to Reuters. Finnish authorities seized the Fitburg on December 31, 2025, on suspicion it had damaged them. The ship was travelling from Russia to Israel, Reuters reported. DW said Finnish police reported finding it in Finland’s exclusive economic zone after its anchor had been dragging for hours. The vessel and its 14 crew members were travelling from St Petersburg to Haifa, DW reported.
Defendants deny wrongdoing as captain plans appeal
The defendants denied wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction in the case, Reuters reported. The captain’s lawyer said he would appeal. The crew member had not decided whether to appeal, according to Reuters.
Finland’s response to Baltic infrastructure incidents
The ruling comes amid Finnish efforts to protect undersea infrastructure following incidents affecting cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea since 2022. Reuters cited a vessel-boarding drill Finland conducted in September. DW also placed the case against a series of regional cable and pipeline incidents since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Sources and context
- Finland court convicts Russian captain, Azerbaijani crew member over Baltic Sea cable damageReuters, republished by The Straits Times
- Finnish court jails captain and crew member for 'aggravated criminal damage' over Baltic cable sabotageDeutsche Welle
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.