Prosecutors in Helsinki are seeking prison terms of at least two years and six months for the captain and boatswain of the cargo ship Fitburg over damage to two undersea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland on 31 December 2025. Both men deny the charges and dispute Finland’s jurisdiction in the case.
The trial began at Helsinki District Court on Tuesday.
The Russian captain, Andrei Maksimenko, and the Azerbaijani boatswain face charges of aggravated sabotage and aggravated interference with telecommunications.
Prosecutors say Fitburg dragged an anchor chain and part of a damaged anchor along the seabed for about 130 kilometres over several hours.
The vessel allegedly damaged cables operated by Elisa and Arelion Finland and crossed eight other undersea links, including electricity and gas infrastructure.
According to prosecutors, the incident created a risk to telecommunications, electricity supply and gas distribution in Finland and the Baltic region.
They said damage to further infrastructure might have caused electricity shortages and left Finland without sufficient gas within days.
The defence rejects the prosecution’s account.
Maksimenko denies acting intentionally or negligently and says he believed the anchor was secured throughout the voyage.
His lawyer, Olli Etelämäki, told the court that the captain had ordered additional securing wires to be attached before departure and had no reason to believe the anchor was dragging.
The boatswain also denies wrongdoing and argues that he did not have authority to raise or lower an anchor without an order from the captain.
His lawyer, Markku Salonen, said the crew believed the anchor was up when the ship left port.
The ship had sailed from St Petersburg and was heading towards Israel.
Finnish authorities first became aware of a fault in an Elisa cable at 04:53 on New Year’s Eve. A second fault involving an Arelion cable was reported shortly afterwards.
The Border Guard contacted Fitburg and nearby vessels.
Police pre-trial material released on Tuesday shows that the crew initially told the Border Guard that both anchors were secure.
Authorities observing the ship from a helicopter then ordered the crew to check again after seeing an anchor chain or cable in the water.
The Border Guard later instructed Fitburg to raise the anchor and stop its voyage.
Police special forces and Border Guard readiness units then boarded the vessel by helicopter and took control of the ship.
The pre-trial material contains no admission from any crew member that the anchor was lowered intentionally.
The investigation did find a drag mark on the seabed that followed Fitburg’s route and matched the width and profile of the ship’s anchor structure.
Prosecutors argue that the anchor entered the water through human action and that no mechanical fault was found that would explain an accidental release.
The defence points to freezing conditions and says the anchor equipment was covered in mud and ice.
The captain told police that the decks were so slippery when Finnish forces boarded that officers had to move on all fours in places.
Finland’s jurisdiction disputed
The defence argues that Finland should not hear the case because much of the damage occurred in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone and because Fitburg is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Prosecutors argue that Finland has jurisdiction because part of the cable damage occurred in Finnish territorial waters and because the consequences affected Finland.
The court said at the start of Tuesday’s hearing that it considers itself competent to hear the case.
The issue follows a separate dispute over the Eagle S cable case. Helsinki Court of Appeal ruled in August that Finland has jurisdiction in that matter and returned it to the district court. The Helsinki District Court had dropped the case in October 2025.
The Fitburg trial has been allocated six hearing days, with two additional reserve days.
HT