Finnish police have released the Fitburg ship suspected of damaging the undersea cable between Helsinki and Tallinn, but the investigation continues and some crew members are still under travel bans.
Finnish police announced Monday that they had released the cargo ship Fitburg, which was seized by authorities in December on suspicion of damaging an undersea telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia. However, the investigation continues, TASR informs, according to a Reuters report.
“Finnish and Estonian police have completed their work on board the vessel and therefore the detention can be terminated,” the head of Finland’s National Investigation Agency, Risto Lohu, said in a statement. The travel ban still applies to some crew members of this ship, he added.
Detained ship Fitburg
On December 31, the Finnish Coast Guard detained the 132-meter cargo ship Fitburg on its way from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel. The ship, flying the flag of the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was carrying Russian steel products that are subject to sanctions.
As part of the investigation, the police also detained one crew member, who was sent to custody by the court in Helsinki on Sunday. The ship will leave Finnish territorial waters on Monday, according to a police statement.
Incidents in the Baltic Sea
Finnish police are investigating the incident as “serious damage, attempted serious damage and serious disruption of telecommunications”.
AFP notes that in recent years, several damages to energy and communication infrastructure, including submarine cables and gas pipelines, have occurred in the Baltic Sea. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many experts and politicians have characterized these incidents as sabotage directed by Russia and part of its hybrid war against Western countries.
