On January 1st, Finnish authorities apprehended the crew of the cargo ship Fitburg, following suspicions of damaging an undersea telecommunication cable located off the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The Fitburg had been en route from St. Petersburg to Haifa and was registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Authorities launched an investigation based upon reports of the ship dragging its anchor along the seafloor and damaging a fiber optic cable connecting Finland and Estonia.
Significant damage to the Elisa submarine line in the Gulf of Finland
On December 31, Finnish Border Guards and the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) stopped the Fitburg in the Gulf of Finland with its anchor down near where the undersea cable had been damaged. According to investigators, the ship’s anchor, and subsequently its heavy chain, was pulled “over at least several tens of kilometers” of seafloor before it damaged the submarine line, which belonged to telecommunication company Elisa.
The damaged cable serves as a critical conduit between Helsinki and Tallinn
The damaged cable is a key part of telecommunications throughout the Nordic-Baltic corridor. Although the damaged cable was crucial to keeping communication flowing within the corridor, there was reportedly no interruption in service because the traffic was routed through alternate channels.
A joint effort involving Finnish Coast Guard ships and helicopters forced the Fitburg to dock in the Port of Kirkkonummi, which is west of Helsinki. Interviews were conducted with all 14 members of the Fitburg’s crew.
Consequences for the crew: How will they be dealt with?
A total of 3 people were arrested by the Finnish authorities. An Azerbaijani citizen was detained for one week pursuant to a court order and a Russian citizen remains under travel restriction; two additional crew members remain banned from traveling.
Multiple allegations have been made against the Fitburg’s crew:
- Aggravated Criminal Damage.
- Attempted Aggravated Criminal Damage.
- Aggravated Interference with Telecommunications.
Ilkka Koskimäki, the head of the National Police of Finland, stated that an investigation is currently being conducted and he did not rule out the possibility that this could be either an accident or intentional sabotage.
While conducting an inspection of the ship, Finnish Customs found structural steel in the ship’s cargo area, which originated from Russia and is subject to EU sanctions. According to Estonian officials, there were reported failures in at least two undersea cables that connect Estonia to Finland, although it is unclear if both cables were damaged by the anchor of the Fitburg
The larger security implications of the incident according to officials
President Alexander Stubb, President of Finland, as well as other high-ranking officials in Finland have publicly discussed the larger security implications of the incident. Officials acknowledge that the damage to undersea infrastructure may indicate hybrid warfare tactics, using physical means to attack and then use cyber elements to disrupt the ability of regional actors to respond.
The KRP is working in collaboration with international partners, including Estonian authorities and the European Commission, to collect intelligence and enhance maritime surveillance to assess the full extent of damage to the cable and find potential areas of damage to the cable.
President Alar Karis of Estonia referred to the failure as possibly malicious and indicated his country would continue investigating. Although the preliminary findings suggest that the anchor dragging of the Fitburg—regardless of being an accident or intentional act—is the primary cause of the damage to the undersea telecommunications cable, the larger context of sabotage in the region highlights a growing need for greater vigilance. As Finland, Estonia, and their international partners intensify their investigation of this incident, they must strengthen their legal, technical and operational defensive mechanisms to protect undersea telecommunications cables from emerging threats.
