Finnish court jails Russian captain and Azerbaijani bosun for Baltic cable damage
A Russian captain and an Azerbaijani bosun have been sentenced to prison for deliberately damaging two submarine telecommunications cables with a cargo ship's dragging anchor in the Gulf of Finland, according to a statement from Helsinki District Court.
Captain Andrei Maksimenko received three years and six months in prison, while bosun Vusal Majidov was sentenced to two years and 10 months on 5 November. Both were ordered into custody immediately.
The ruling is not final. The convictions stem from an incident on 31 December 2025 involving the 9,822-dwt general cargo ship Fitburg, which was sailing from St Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel, under the flag of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The court found that Fitburg dragged its anchor chain and anchor shank across approximately 130 km of seabed, crossing nine telecommunications and power cables and one gas pipeline. Two telecommunications cables belonging to Elisa and Arelion Finland were damaged. Seven other cables and the gas pipeline were exposed to the risk of damage.
The anchor had been raised when Fitburg departed St Petersburg on 30 December, and its securing mechanism was operational. It was subsequently lowered before the vessel left Russian territorial waters. The court concluded that both officers must have known the anchor was dragging while the ship was underway. Majidov helped keep the vessel moving with its anchor down for approximately two hours after Finnish authorities first contacted the crew. The defendants were ordered to pay approximately €1.9m ($2.1m) jointly in compensation, with Maksimenko liable for another €85,000 ($95,000).
A separate charge of aggravated interference with telecommunications was dismissed because the conduct was already covered by the aggravated criminal damage conviction. Both men denied wrongdoing and challenged Finnish jurisdiction, arguing that the damage occurred outside territorial waters. The court rejected their arguments, finding that the intentional offences had consequences in Finland. Maksimenko intends to appeal, while Majidov has yet to decide whether to challenge the ruling. Finnish authorities intercepted Fitburg on 31 December and escorted it to Kantvik, west of Helsinki. The vessel was subsequently released.
Built in 2001, Fitburg was renamed Finex in March 2026. Its 14 crew members came from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications and digital services company operating in Finland and Estonia.
Source : Portnews