Ship suspected of severing cable between Finland and Estonia released. However, one crew member was detained

The Finnish Border Guard Service reported that the Fitburg vessel has been lifted from its detention and will leave the countryʼs territorial waters. It was suspected of severing an underwater data cable between Finland and Estonia on the night of December 31, while the vessel was en route from St. Petersburg to Haifa, Israel.

This is reported by the Finnish media Yle.

The head of the investigation, Risto Lohi of the Central Criminal Police, said that the Finnish and Estonian police have completed their preliminary investigation on the ship, so the arrest can be lifted.

On January 11, a Helsinki court took a member of the Fitburg crew into custody as part of a retrial. Some of the crew members are still banned from leaving the country.

Finnish law enforcement is currently investigating the incident on suspicion of serious damage to property, attempted serious damage to property and serious disruption of telecommunications. The Fitburg is not on the official sanctions list. However, Open Sanctions, which collects information on sanctions, has previously identified it as a vessel of interest.

Submarine cable incidents

On the afternoon of December 25, 2024, the Estlink 2 submarine power cable between Finland and Estonia broke.

Two ships were passing overhead during the incident. Finnish police suspected that the Eagle S, which was en route from Russia to Egypt, was involved.

It slowed down significantly when the cable broke. There were suggestions that the cable broke due to an anchor that the ship was dragging along the seabed. The Eagle S tanker belongs to Russiaʼs shadow fleet. Spy equipment was found on it.

Finnish authorities detained the oil tanker Eagle S on December 26, 2024. When the vessel was detained, the crew threatened to cut the second Estlink 1 power cable and the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.

In Finland, on August 11, 2025, criminal charges were brought against the captain and crew of the Eagle S.

On September 1, 2025, Estlink 1 was disconnected due to interruptions in the DC line.

On 3 October 2025, the Helsinki District Court dismissed criminal charges against the captain and two officers of the tanker Eagle S. The court concluded that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case because the crimes with which the sailors were accused were committed in Finland’s exclusive economic zone, not in its territorial waters.

Therefore, the issue of jurisdiction should be decided in the sailors’ country of origin or in the flag state of the vessel. As a result, all charges were dropped, and Finland was ordered to pay defense costs of around €195 000.

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