Finnish authorities have detained a cargo vessel suspected of damaging an undersea telecommunications cable connecting Helsinki to Estonia.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about potential hybrid warfare targeting critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region.
The vessel, named Fitburg, was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel, flying the flag of St Vincent and Grenadines.
Finnish police arrested all 14 crew members following the damage to a cable owned by Finnish telecoms operator Elisa. The crew consisted of Russian, Georgian, Kazakh, and Azerbaijani nationals, as reported by BBC.
Finnish authorities launched an investigation on Wednesday morning after Elisa detected a fault in the cable.
A coastguard helicopter and patrol ship were dispatched to the area, where they discovered the Fitburg dragging its anchor in the Gulf of Finland. Police have taken control of the vessel as part of a joint operation.
Investigators are examining the incident as “aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications.”
Despite the damage, Elisa confirmed that its services remained unaffected, with traffic successfully re-routed through alternative channels. The Baltic Sea has experienced multiple similar incidents in recent years.
Experts and political leaders increasingly view these events as part of a hybrid war strategy potentially orchestrated by Russia against Western nations. Concerns have intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2024.
Estonia reported that a second telecoms cable linking it to Finland also suffered an outage on Wednesday.
President Alar Karis expressed hope it was not deliberate, while investigations continue. Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that Finland remains prepared for various security challenges.
NATO has identified undersea cables as critical infrastructure vulnerable to sabotage and hybrid warfare tactics.
These cables carry essential data and electricity between countries, maintaining internet connectivity for millions.
The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation. EU technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen emphasized readiness to counter hybrid threats targeting critical infrastructure.
In December 2024, Finnish authorities investigated potential Russian involvement in destroy an electricity cable between Finland and Estonia.
Similar incidents occurred in November, when cables connecting Finland-Germany and Lithuania-Sweden were damaged in what German officials called apparent sabotage.
Finnish MP Jarno Limnell highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating that critical infrastructure represents the front line of national security in an era of hybrid warfare.
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