The Fitburg ship was en route from St. Petersburg, Russia to Haifa port in Israel when it was suspected of breaking cables connecting the capital Helsinki in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia, Finnish authorities informed on December 31, 2025. The cable break occurred at about 5 am on December 31, local time.
The ship is suspected of breaking cables hanging the flag of the island nation of Saint Vincent and Grenadines in the Caribbean Sea at the time of the incident.
Cable breaks do not disrupt service, according to Elisa, the Finnish telecommunications company operating the cable. Elisa said that the company's network is designed and secured through many lines, so service will not be interrupted if one cable line breaks. There is currently no detailed information about the depth and thickness of the broken cable.
On December 31, Finnish authorities confirmed they are investigating the case on charges of "serious property damage, intentional property damage, and serious interference in the telecommunications system".
Hopefully this is not an intentional action, but the investigation will clarify the issue. The Estonian and Finnish authorities are closely coordinating to collect more information" - Estonian President Alar Karis informed on social networks about the cable break.
Investigators say the damaged cable section is located in Estonia's exclusive economic zone. The Fitburg ship was intercepted in Finnish waters, with the anchor of the ship dropped into the sea.
A special task force of the Finnish Border Guard forces went from helicopter to ship before seizing the ship and arresting 14 crew members. The crew came from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia.
According to maritime data, the ship is managed and operated by Albros Transport and Trading Company, headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey.
A second telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia also encountered an incident on December 31, although it is not clear whether these 2 events are related or not.
This is not the first time a submarine cable in the Baltic region has been damaged.
In November 2024, the German Defense Minister said that cutting off 2 fiber optic cable lines in the Baltic Sea in one day is a sabotage against European countries that support Ukraine in the context of conflict.
One of those cables connects Finland and Germany, the other runs between Lithuania and Sweden.
In December last year, Finnish authorities arrested a tanker on suspicion of being involved in cutting undersea cable lines.
