Cargo subject to sanctions found on ship suspected of damaging cable in Baltic Sea
Finnish law enforcement agencies detained the cargo ship Fitburg, which was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Israel, on suspicion of damaging an underwater telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported in a statement by the Finnish Customs Service and in a report by the national broadcaster Yle.
The incident occurred while the vessel was passing near critical maritime infrastructure. Law enforcement officers and border guards noticed suspicious behaviour by the crew and the vessel's route, which prompted them to conduct an inspection.
Sanctioned cargo and possible violation of sanctions
During an inspection on board Fitburg, Finnish customs officers discovered steel products subject to European Union sanctions. The import and transit of such products through EU territory is strictly prohibited.
Mikko Grönberg, Director of the Finnish Customs Service, said that a preliminary investigation into a possible violation of the EU sanctions regime had been launched. As part of the investigation, the ship's crew members were questioned.
"We are investigating all circumstances related to the cargo and the ship's route, as well as possible violations of European Union sanctions," Grönberg said.
Suspicion of sabotage and actions by law enforcement agencies
The detained vessel was flying the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. According to the border guard service, a helicopter sent to the scene of the incident recorded that the vessel was dragging its anchor along the seabed. This could have caused damage to the submarine telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia.
There were 14 crew members on board Fitburg, who were citizens of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Two people were arrested and two others were banned from leaving Finland. All crew members have been questioned as part of the investigation.
Finnish and European authorities have not ruled out sabotage or espionage and are continuing to investigate all circumstances of the incident.
- We previously reported that Europe is taking a more serious view of the wave of "minor" acts of sabotage that Russia is carrying out through intermediaries and criminal groups.
The intelligence services and police forces of European countries have already prevented attempts to blow up bridges, derail trains, set fire to shopping centres, poison water supplies and interfere with infrastructure facilities. Experts note that these are only some of the incidents that have been made public.
