The Finnish Border Guard says a vessel believed to be responsible for the cable break has been identified. The vessel had its anchor chain in the water and has been seized.
The damage was discovered on New Year's Eve morning in Estonia's exclusive economic zone.
The incident is being investigated as suspected serious damage, attempted serious damage and suspected serious disruption of postal and telecommunications traffic. The cable is owned by the Finnish telecom company Elisa.
The vessel suspected of being behind the cable break was located by the border guard vessel Turva and a helicopter in Finnish waters. It was then escorted into Finnish waters.
On the way to Israel
The case is being investigated by Finnish police together with other authorities. The ship with a crew of 14 has been taken into custody, the police announced at a press conference.
The ship in question is the Fitburg, which sails under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. The 132-meter-long cargo ship was en route from St. Petersburg in Russia to Haifa in Israel, the border guard said.
It is unclear whether the ship belongs to the so-called Russian shadow fleet, but it is on the list of ships of interest of the organization Open Sanctions, Yle reports.
The crew, who come from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, are to be questioned by the police. They remain on the boat but are not allowed to have contact with each other, Finnish media report.
The ship was towed to the port of Kantvik, Kirkkonummi, west of Helsinki, in the late afternoon. Customs conducted an inspection and seized the cargo. The purpose is to find out what type of cargo the ship was carrying and whether the cargo is subject to sanctions, Customs announced in a press release this evening.
“Finland prepared”
The Attorney General has announced an indictment in the case. Finnish President Alexander Stubb announced that the authorities are monitoring developments.
“Finland is prepared for security challenges of various kinds, and we respond to them as needed,” he writes on X.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has also commented on the incident on X.
"The Finnish authorities are functioning," writes Orpo, adding that the government is monitoring the situation closely.
The Estonian Ministry of Justice also announces that a Swedish submarine cable between Estonia and Sweden has been damaged. The Swedish cable is owned by the company Arelion.
