# Finland court jails captain and crew member over Baltic cable sabotage

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/finland-court-jails-captain-and-crew-member-over-baltic-cable-sabotage/
- Published: 2026-11-05T14:17:47+00:00
- Original publisher: DW (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.dw.com/en/finland-court-jails-captain-and-crew-member-over-baltic-cable-sabotage/a-79862519?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- Topics: Europe, World

## Key points

- Finnish court convicts two Fitburg crew members over cable damage.
- The captain received three and a half years in prison.
- The men denied wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction.

## Summary

The Helsinki District Court has convicted the Russian captain and an Azerbaijani senior crew member of the freighter Fitburg over damage to two undersea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland. The ruling adds a criminal conviction to a case that has drawn attention to the security of Baltic infrastructure.

The court found the men guilty of aggravated criminal damage, saying they intentionally dragged the ship’s anchor about 130 kilometres along the seabed. The captain was jailed for three and a half years and the crew member for two years and 10 months; they were also ordered to pay about €1.9 million jointly, with the captain liable for a further €85,000. Both denied wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction. The Fitburg was seized on 31 December while travelling from St Petersburg to Haifa, after Finnish authorities said its anchor had been dragging in Finland’s exclusive economic zone.

## Coverage

- [DW: Finland court jails captain and crew member over Baltic cable sabotage](https://www.dw.com/en/finland-court-jails-captain-and-crew-member-over-baltic-cable-sabotage/a-79862519?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf)
- [The Moscow Times: Finland Jails Russian Captain and Azerbaijani Crew Member Over Baltic Sea Cable Damage](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/11/05/finland-jails-russian-captain-and-azerbaijani-crew-member-over-baltic-sea-cable-damage-a94185)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.