Finnish authorities seized a cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea that is suspected of damaging cables in Estonian waters in a possible sabotage incident, police in Helsinki told reporters.
The ship is registered to St. Vincent and Grenadine but crewed by Russians, Georgians, Kazakhs, and Azerbaijanis, authorities said on December 31. All 14 were being held by Finnish authorities.
According to MarineTraffic data site, the ship had left the Russian city of St. Petersburg and was traveling to the port of Haifa in Israel.
“At the moment, we suspect aggravated disruption of telecommunications and also aggravated sabotage and attempted aggravated sabotage,” Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku told reporters.
Eight NATO countries, along with Russia, border the Baltic Sea.
The alliance bolstered its presence in the Baltic with ships, aircraft, and naval drones following a string of incidents involving damage to energy and communications lines amid the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NATO did not immediately comment.
In January, an undersea cable between Latvia and Sweden was severed amid suspicions that the incident was an act of sabotage, stoking fears of interference and putting a spotlight on Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
The shadow fleet refers to tankers and other ships that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions imposed on it due to its invasion Ukraine.
In the latest incident, Estonian officials said early analysis did not indicate that the ship was part of the shadow fleet but that the probe continues.
Telecom Provider Reports Disturbance
Police said Finnish telecom operator Elisa reported the disturbance of the cable connecting Helsinki with the Estonian capital, Tallinn, through the Gulf of Finland.
The Finnish coast guard tracked the suspect vessel inside the Finnish economic zone.
“The ship’s anchor chain had been lowered into the water,” a statement said.
Finnish authorities boarded and seized the vessel and guided it to anchorage in Finnish waters.
Estonian officials said the incident would not affect communications in the country as operations can rely on backup assets.
Jukka Rappe, the Finnish deputy prosecutor-general, told broadcaster Yle that he had ordered an investigation into the matter to be carried out by the National Bureau of Investigation.
“The cargo ship is suspected of having cut the data cable in circumstances where it now seems obvious that there is also a possibility of a crime,” he said, although he did not rule out an accident.
