Finland Arrests Two Crewmembers and Seizes Cargo from Suspect Cargo Ship
Finland has unleashed a gamut of inspections and is searching for multiple violations aboard the cargo ship Fitburg, which was detained on Wednesday, December 31, over a suspicion of damaging undersea cables. The authorities are saying it is still in the early stages of the investigation, but they have arrested and detained crewmembers and are reporting the vessel’s cargo is suspected of violating European Union sanctions.
The Finnish Border Guard quickly identified the Fitburg as the prime suspect after telecom company Elisa reported damage to one of its undersea cables connecting Finland and Estonia. A Swedish telecom company, Arelion, later reported that it was also experiencing an outage on one of its telecom cables.
Initially, three vessels were identified, but the Finnish authorities focused on Fitburg, a 9,800 dwt vessel managed by a Turkish company and registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines after the vessel was observed sailing from the Estonian EEZ into Finnish waters with its anchor chain down. It was instructed to stop and raise its anchor and then told to move into a Finnish port for an inspection.
Finnish troops were observed fast roping onto the deck of the vessel, and later, under judicial orders, the ship was instructed to move into the port of Kantvik, approximately 20 miles west of Helsinki. Prosecutors obtained court orders to detain the ship on suspicion of “aggravated criminal damage” and attempting to damage telecom cables.
The Helsinki Police have arrested two individuals from the crew of the ship, and two others have been placed under travel bans. The police declined to provide additional information, but confirmed there are 14 crewmembers from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan aboard. They are reported to be cooperating with the investigation, and formal interviews started on January 1.
Shortly after the vessel docked, Finnish Customs boarded the ship and informed the captain that the ship’s cargo had been seized, subject to an inspection. They said it was being checked for sanctions violations.
The ship had departed Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Customs says it has confirmed it was loaded with structural steel, which is under sanctions from the European Union. Customs is continuing a legal investigation and reports it will have a determination by next week on the European Union’s sanctions as they may apply to the cargo.
Finnish Transport also announced that it was commencing a Port State Control Inspection of the vessel. They are checking for compliance with international regulations.
The authorities have also initiated a subsea crime scene investigation. The Border Guard and the Defense Forces are working with the police, and they are coordinating with the Estonian authorities. The cable damage happened in Estonia’s EEZ.
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Media reports said the police were seen removing material from the ship late on Wednesday. They are also inspecting the ship’s anchor.
The situation is eerily similar to the investigation that began on Christmas Day 2024, when the shadow fleet tanker Eagle S was also accused of dragging its anchor during a storm in the Baltic. Cables were damaged, and Finland ultimately prosecuted the captain and two crewmembers, charging them with negligence and failing to properly operate their vessel. The ship was held for months before it was released, and the three crewmembers were left off by the Helsinki court, which said the incident happened outside Finland’s area of jurisdiction. The case has been appealed.