Damaged cable: ship in all probability dragged anchor for kilometers | EUROtoday

As of: January 4, 2026 10:28 p.m

According to Finnish police, a ship seized within the Baltic Sea allowed its anchor to pull alongside the seabed for kilometers – till it broken an underwater cable.

A freighter seized due to injury to an underwater cable between Finland and Estonia induced its anchor to pull a number of kilometers alongside the seabed, based on investigators. “There is reason to believe that the anchor and anchor chain of the ship ‘Fitburg’ dragged along the seabed for at least several tens of kilometers before reaching the site of damage,” Finnish police mentioned.

The ship was seized on December thirty first and 14 crew members have been arrested. The “Fitburg” sails underneath the flag of the Caribbean state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and was on its approach from St. Petersburg in Russia to Haifa in Israel. The Finnish police say they’re investigating “serious damage to property, attempted serious damage to property and serious disruption of telecommunications” in cooperation with worldwide authorities.

Shadow Fleet suspected

Since the start of Russia’s warfare of aggression in opposition to Ukraine, vital telecommunications and energy cables have repeatedly been broken within the Baltic Sea. Experts assume that these are hybrid assaults on behalf of Russia.

Ships from the so-called shadow fleet are sometimes suspected of being accountable. With these ships, which are sometimes outdated and sail underneath a overseas flag, Russia circumvents the oil embargo imposed within the wake of the Ukraine warfare. NATO elevated its patrols due to the collection of suspected acts of sabotage within the Baltic Sea.