A Russian captain and a member of his crew convicted in Finland after their vessel destroyed two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea

A Helsinki court sentenced the captain of the Fitburg and the head of its crew to prison on Thursday, holding them responsible for damaging two submarine cables between Finland and Estonia on December 31, 2025. The vessel allegedly dragged its anchor along the seabed of the Gulf of Finland for at least 130 kilometers.

The captain, a Russian citizen, received a three-year-and-six-month prison sentence, while the crew chief, an Azerbaijani citizen, was sentenced to two years and ten months. The two were tried for “aggravated criminal damage” and “aggravated interference with telecommunications.”

Finnish authorities say the vessel damaged two cables and attempted to damage eight others. The cargo ship, registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was traveling from Russia to Israel and was detained by the Finnish Coast Guard on the day of the incident.

A representative of the Russian Embassy attended the trial. The case is part of a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea, where tensions have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, three crew members of the Eagle S oil tanker were tried for damaging submarine cables in December 2024. Numerous experts and political leaders consider such incidents to be possible hybrid operations by Russia.