Overview
- Finnish Border Guard and police took control of Fitburg, ordering the vessel to raise its anchor chain and directing it into Finnish waters.
- Officers boarded from a helicopter, according to Helsingin Sanomat, after telecom firm Elisa reported damage on the Helsinki–Tallinn route.
- Fourteen crew members were arrested on suspicion of causing serious damage and interfering with communications, with nationals from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
- Estonia’s Ministry of Justice and Digital Communications reported five affected cables in the Gulf of Finland, including international links and a line to Hiiumaa.
- Authorities and open-source trackers have flagged Fitburg as of investigative interest and possibly tied to a Russian “shadow fleet,” though no state-level attribution has been presented; the Russian embassy was notified and reported no consular appeals so far.