A Helsinki District Court has sentenced the Russian captain and a senior crew member of the cargo ship Fitburg to prison for the intentional destruction of two undersea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland. The November 5, 2026, ruling follows a high-stakes investigation into the December 31, 2025, incident that severed critical data links between Helsinki and Tallinn.
The court sentenced the ship’s captain, Andrei Maksimenko, to three years and six months in prison, while the boatswain, Azerbaijani national Vusal Majidov, received a sentence of two years and 10 months. Both men were taken into custody immediately following the verdict. As reported by DW.com, the defendants have denied any wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction over the matter, leaving the door open for a potential appeal. A representative of the Russian Embassy attended the trial.
Evidence of Intentional Anchor Dragging
The legal proceedings centered on the movement of the Fitburg, which was traveling from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel, at the time of the incident. Investigators established that the vessel dragged its anchor and chain along the seabed for approximately 130 kilometers (81 miles). The court noted that the anchor had been raised when the ship departed St. Petersburg the previous day. While the charge sheet did not claim the captain explicitly ordered the anchor lowered or that the boatswain personally performed the action, the court determined both were aware it was deployed while passing over the infrastructure.
Finland court convicts Fitburg captain, crew member of cable sabotage A Finnish court said on November 5, 2026, that it found the captain and a crew member of the cargo ship Fitburg guilty of aggravated sabotage for damaging two subsea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of…
The damage caused by the ship resulted in the severing of two telecommunications cables operated by the Finnish firm Elisa. Beyond the immediate loss of connectivity, the court noted that the vessel’s path posed a direct risk to seven additional communication and electricity cables, as well as a gas pipeline. The court dismissed separate charges of aggravated interference with telecommunications, ruling that the offense was sufficiently covered by the conviction for aggravated criminal damage. Authorities reported that the vessel, which is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, actually caused damage to two cables and attempted to damage eight others. The investigation into the case was completed in June.
Court Orders Defendants to Pay Millions in Damages
The Helsinki District Court ordered the two defendants to pay approximately €1.9 million ($2.1 million) in combined damages to cover repair costs and legal expenses. Captain Maksimenko was ordered to pay an additional €85,000 beyond the joint liability, as noted by EU Today. The sentences handed down were harsher than those requested by prosecutors, who had sought at least two and a half years in prison.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland significantly increased its surveillance of Baltic Sea infrastructure. This conviction stands in contrast to the October 2025 decision by the same court to decline jurisdiction in the case of the Eagle S oil tanker, which was also suspected of damaging undersea cables in December 2024. The Fitburg verdict addresses whether incidents involving commercial vessels damaging undersea infrastructure can be prosecuted as intentional criminal acts in Finland.
Finland Steps up Efforts to Protect Undersea Infrastructure
The vulnerability of undersea cables has become a primary security concern for NATO and the European Union. These connections carry the vast majority of international data traffic, and their disruption has immediate impacts on both regional digital stability and the broader global economy. The incident involving the Fitburg occurred as Finland has stepped up efforts to protect its undersea infrastructure following a series of incidents involving cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Great News: ”A Finnish court has sentenced the Russian captain and Azerbaijani boatswain of the cargo ship Fitburg to prison for damaging undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland.” https://t.co/JlRsuFBpOM
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Finland court convicts Fitburg captain and crew member over Baltic sea cable damage https://t.co/iIXr9VJetI
🇫🇮 NEWS: Finnish court finds Fitburg captain, crewman guilty over Baltic cable damage
In Finland, the Russian captain of the ship Fitburg was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for damaging underwater cables. The Helsinki District Court sentenced the captain of the cargo ship Fitburg, Russian citizen Andrey Maksimenko, to three years and six months in prison in the… pic.twitter.com/0sMzxkAMWO
