Finnish Court Convicts Fitburg Captain and Boatswain

The Helsinki District Court convicted the captain and boatswain of the cargo ship Fitburg of aggravated sabotage on November 5, sentencing them to prison over damage to two undersea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland. The court ruled that Finland had jurisdiction because the intentional acts had effects there. Its decision is not final. The Russian captain was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, and the Azerbaijani boatswain to two years and 10 months. The court also ordered the defendants to compensate affected parties for cable repairs and investigations, and to pay legal costs. A separate charge of aggravated interference with telecommunications was dismissed because the court found the sabotage offense covered the same conduct. The damage occurred on December 31, 2025. According to the court’s account, the Fitburg dragged its anchor along the seabed for about 130 kilometers, damaging the cables. The ship was sailing from St. Petersburg to Israel when Finnish authorities seized it that day. The court found that both defendants acted intentionally and must have known the anchor was dragging, according to its account of the ruling. Both men denied...