Finnish authorities detained the Fitburg on Wednesday in connection with the cable damage earlier that morning. Customs officials said inspections carried out after the seizure revealed the ship was carrying internationally sanctioned "structural steel".

Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported Thursday afternoon that Finnish police have arrested two crew members suspected of damaging the cable, while another two members have been issued travel bans. Authorities did not release the nationalities of the individuals.

Initial questioning of the crew began Wednesday evening, with full interviews slated to begin Thursday. Authorities have also begun an underwater survey of the area surrounding the damaged cable.

Armed officers were also seen at the Port of Kantvik in Kirkkonummi on Wednesday evening, removing items from the vessel. Svenska Yle journalist Dan Granqvist reported the situation on board was calm after 7 p.m., with fewer than 10 officers conducting investigative actions. Access to the port was temporarily closed.

Authorities examined several areas of the ship, including the bridge, and removed at least one large item from the vessel during the operation.

A photographer for Helsingin Sanomat said the ship's anchor — believed to have caused the damage — had been raised and secured to the vessel. The anchor appeared rusted and was fastened at the stern after being pulled from the water.

"Investigative procedures have been carried out on the ship and the crew has been interviewed," National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) chief Risto Lohi previously said. "We are now assessing the situation and the role of the crew."

He added that the crew of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged vessel, which includes citizens of Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, has been cooperative.

Cable damage follows familiar pattern

According to Estonia's Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, telecom company Elisa detected damage to the Estonian–Finnish communications cable shortly before 5 a.m. The cable lies in Estonia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

At the time of the damage, a vessel was moving from Estonia's EEZ into Finland's EEZ. Yle reported that police identified the suspected vessel as the Fitburg and, in a joint operation involving a helicopter and a Border Guard patrol vessel, placed the ship under authorities' control in Finnish EEZ waters.

The Fitburg was then moved to the Port of Kantvik, 30 kilometers west of Helsinki.

The KRP chief said the investigation is still in its early stages, and police are not commenting on whether the case could be linked to influence operations by another country.

At this point, suspected offenses include causing a serious disruption to communications, property damage and attempted property damage.

Lohi said the case shares similarities with several other cable disruptions in the Gulf of Finland involving foreign vessels over the past year.

"The common factor is that, as in this case, the cargo ship came from the direction of Russia and a lowered anchor is involved," he said, adding that each incident is being examined individually.

Ship owner has ties to Russia

According to the vessel-tracking site MarineTraffic, the Fitburg is owned by Fitburg Shipping Co Ltd and managed by the Turkey-based Albros Shipping & Trading Ltd, one of Turkey's largest shipping companies.

Its majority owner is Turkish businessman and founder Raim Alekperov, who holds a 76 percent stake in the company.

Alekperov is considered an influential figure in Turkey's shipbuilding sector and in Turkish–Russian maritime traffic. He is reportedly Azerbaijani and lives in Turkey.

Albros owns dozens of dry cargo vessels and tankers operating in the Russian, Azerbaijani and Turkish markets. The company also has subsidiaries, including Albros-Petersburg, which has an office in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Publicly available company information shows that many Albros vessels have previously sailed under the Russian flag and been operated by Russian crews.

Alekperov's name has previously surfaced in investigations into tax avoidance linked to companies associated with him. In 2017, leaked documents revealed the use of offshore tax haven structures registered in Malta by businesses and wealthy individuals connected to him.

While Albros itself is not currently subject to sanctions, a subsidiary violated Crimea-related shipping sanctions within the past decade. In 2017, the vessel Amur 2515, owned by the St. Petersburg-based Albros Petersburg Shipping, visited the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, in breach of sanctions.

This piece has been updated to include the latest details reported by Finnish police.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!