Finnish court sentences Russian captain of Fitburg to 3.5 years in prison for damaging underwater cables

Verdict in the Fitburg case

The Helsinki District Court on Thursday, November 5, sentenced Russian captain Andrei Maksimenko of the cargo ship Fitburg to three years and six months in prison, and the boatswain — a citizen of Azerbaijan — to two years and ten months. Both were found guilty of 'aggravated property damage' for damaging two underwater telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia. This was reported by Life.ru citing RIA Novosti and euronews; Deutsche Welle also provides details of the proceedings.

What the court established and what the parties say

According to the prosecution, the vessel dragged a damaged anchor along the seabed for at least 130 kilometers. The court stated in its ruling that the anchor was deliberately dragged along the seabed for about 130 km. The prosecution had sought at least two and a half years of imprisonment for both men, but Maksimenko rejected the charges. The defense insisted that the captain was unaware of the dragging anchor and challenged the Finnish court's jurisdiction to hear the case — an argument the court rejected. According to Reuters, as cited by Deutsche Welle, the convicted men were also ordered to jointly pay about €1.9 million ($2.1 million) in compensation, with the captain bearing roughly €85,000 more.

Circumstances of the incident

Fitburg, a 132-meter vessel flying the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was en route from Saint Petersburg to Haifa, Israel, when Finnish authorities detained it on December 31 on suspicion of damaging a cable in the Gulf of Finland. Police reported that the vessel had been dragging its anchor for several hours before being detected. The crew consisted of 14 people, including eight Russians. In January the vessel left Finland, but the captain and two of his officers remained in the country under a travel ban; the Russian embassy reported that consular staff were maintaining contact with the sailors and their lawyers.

Context and differences from the Eagle S case

The cable belongs to the Finnish telecom operator Elisa and lies in Estonia's exclusive economic zone. In January, Finnish customs determined that the cargo of steel products fell under sanctions against Russia, but no criminal case was opened on that basis, since the cargo ended up in Finland's territorial waters only at the authorities' request to move the vessel. An inspection by the transport authority found no serious deficiencies aboard the ship. euronews notes that the incident occurred against the backdrop of a series of cable and pipeline damage incidents in the Baltic Sea, which put eight NATO countries in the region on heightened alert, while the alliance increased its presence with patrol frigates, aircraft and maritime drones. Meanwhile, in October a Finnish court dismissed a similar case against the Russia-linked tanker Eagle S: the prosecution failed to prove intent — unlike the Fitburg trial, which ended in a conviction.