Finnish court jails Russian captain over Baltic cable sabotage

The Russian captain was jailed for three years and six months and the Azerbaijani crew member for two years and 10 months.HELSINKI (AFP) — A Finnish court on Thursday jailed the Russian captain and a senior crew member from a freighter for sabotaging two undersea cables linking Finland and Estonia last year.The Helsinki district court said the cargo vessel dragged an anchor along the seabed for about 80 miles outside Finland’s territorial waters, damaging two telecommunications cables.It was one of several instances of suspected cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea in recent years, which many experts and politicians say is part of Russia’s “hybrid war” against Western countries as it pursues its invasion of Ukraine.The 433-foot cargo ship Fitburg, en route from Russia to Israel, was stopped by Finnish authorities on Dec. 31, 2025, following suspicions that the ship had damaged the cables in the Gulf of Finland.The ship was registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.The Helsinki district court said it had convicted the captain and his deputy of “aggravated sabotage.”The Russian captain was jailed for three years and six months and the Azerbaijani crew member for two years and 10 months.The freighter sailed across nine telecommunications and power cables, as well as a gas pipeline.The captain and his deputy were also ordered to pay compensation for the damage to the cables and a gas pipeline and the investigation costs.The defendants denied the charges during the trial, which started in September, arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction in the case as the damaged cables were outside Finnish territorial waters.In a similar case last year, the Helsinki district court ruled that Finnish jurisdiction did not apply in an incident involving three crew members from a Cook Islands-registered tanker, the Eagle S.The Helsinki court of appeal overturned that ruling and sent the case back to the district court.The court found that the Fitburg case could be heard in Finland, noting that it “concerned intentional offenses whose consequences had manifested in Finland.”—By Agence France-PresseSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads