A Finnish court has convicted the captain and another crew member of a cargo ship for their involvement in damaging undersea telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea late last year. The Helsinki District Court found both individuals guilty of aggravated sabotage.
The captain received a sentence of three years and six months, while the boatswain was sentenced to two years and 10 months. Both men, identified by national broadcaster Yle as Russian and Azerbaijani respectively, were also ordered to pay compensation for the costs associated with examining and repairing the damaged cables.
The incident occurred on December 31, when the cargo ship Fitburg, which was flagged in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and en route from Russia to Israel, was found in Finland's exclusive economic zone. Police reported at the time that the ship had been dragging its anchor for hours. According to a court statement, the anchor dragged along the seabed for approximately 130 kilometers (80 miles), causing damage to two telecommunications cables.
The court determined that while the indictment did not explicitly state the captain ordered the anchor lowered, both defendants must have been aware of it dragging. Reports indicate that both defendants denied any wrongdoing. The court dismissed a separate charge of aggravated interference with telecommunications, considering it encompassed by the aggravated sabotage charges.
This incident is part of a series of events in the Baltic Sea involving vessels linked to Russia. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western officials have attributed around 200 incidents of sabotage and malicious activity across Europe to Russia, according to The Associated Press.