Finland Jails Captain and Boatswain for “Intentional” Anchor Dragging
The Helsinki District Court convicted the captain and boatswain of the cargo ship Fitburg, who were accused of damaging two undersea telecommunications cables and endangering additional assets in a 2025 anchor-dragging incident. Both men were found guilty of “aggravated vandalism” for knowingly letting the cargo ship sail for hours dragging its anchor in the Gulf of Finland, and they were sentenced to jail and ordered to pay restitution.
It is a landmark case as it was the first conviction in what has been alleged to be part of a Russian campaign of hybrid warfare, although the case was limited to the anchor-dragging incident and not tried on larger geopolitical issues. A previous case in Finland was dismissed over issues of jurisdiction but might face a retrial, while a third case involving a Chinese master was pursued by the Chinese authorities.
The District Court dismissed the defense’s claims over jurisdiction, which asserted that the damage happened in international waters. The Finnish court had earlier ruled that while the damage was outside Finland, the impact of the actions was in Finland and caused serious danger to important functions of society. It said it was not a “maritime matter,” which would have required the prosecution in the officers’ home countries, because the consequences were in Finland and aimed at society.
Hearings for the case took place in Helsinki between September 8 and October 8 in front of a three-judge panel. They reached a unanimous decision, however, which can be appealed.
The court was presented with evidence that the cargo ship Fitburg departed Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 30, 2025, and at the time its anchor was raised. The court found that the anchor locking mechanism had been in working order. The prosecution did not assert that the captain had explicitly ordered the anchor to be lowered or that the boatswain actively participated in lowering the anchor, but the court ruled that they had to be aware that the anchor was lowered. The captain approved the vessel’s passage with the anchor lowered, and the boatswain actively participated in the vessel continuing to sail with the anchor lowered.
The evidence presented showed that the anchor had been lowered at some point after the ship departed Saint Petersburg and before it crossed the border, leaving Russian territorial waters. They found drag marks on the seafloor extending 130 kilometers (more than 80 miles) from the Russian border, and they believe the anchor and its chain were dragged for “several hours.”
During the time the anchor was down, it damaged two telecommunication cables connecting Finland and Estonia. In addition, it crossed seven additional telecommunications and electricity cables and one gas pipeline. Prosecutors said it was only luck that more of the undersea assets had not been damaged.
Finnish authorities quickly identified the Fitburg after the cable operator reported issues and ordered the ship to raise its anchor. They contend the ship continued to sail for approximately two more hours on December 31 with the anchor down until the Finnish authorities stopped the ship and raised the anchor.
The court accepted the charges as “aggravated” because it found the act was committed with the intention of causing the greatest possible damage to society. They said the damage caused a particularly serious danger to important functions of society. The lesser charge of aggravated interference with telecommunications was dismissed by the court because it considered it to be included in the charge of aggravated vandalism.
Captain Andrei Maksimenko, age 57 and a Russian citizen, was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment, with the length of his sentence being longer because of his ultimate responsibility as master of the ship. Boatswain Vusal Majidov, age 48, from Azerbaijan, was sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment.
Collectively, the two men were also ordered to pay a total of €1.9 million ($2.13 million) in damages based on the cost of repairing and inspecting the cables and gas pipeline. The captain was ordered to pay an amount €85,000 ($95,400) higher again because of his role of being in command of the vessel.
The court ordered both men to be immediately imprisoned after having been banned from leaving Finland since January 2026. Lawyers for the captain said they planned to appeal the verdict, while lawyers for the boatswain said a decision had not yet been made.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
Earlier this year, the appeals court in Finland overturned the decision that had released three officers from the tanker Eagle S who were being tried on similar charges for dragging the anchor of their tanker. The defense had argued the Helsinki court did not have jurisdiction because the damage was in international waters. Prosecutors have yet to announce whether they would retry the case.
As a result of these incidents, the Baltic nations raised their level of monitoring. They were also able to get NATO to agree to new monitoring efforts in the Baltic to protect critical infrastructure.
