Finnish authorities have seized a ship and detained a largely Russian crew amid suspicions it deliberately or recklessly cut a vital undersea cable by dragging its anchor through the Gulf of Finland.

The damage was discovered Wednesday on a telecommunications cable running between the Finnish and Estonian capitals, triggering an urgent security response from Helsinki amid growing fears over sabotage of Europe’s critical infrastructure.

Border Guard officials said they intercepted and inspected the suspect vessel after finding it inside Finland’s exclusive economic zone with its anchor lowered - a key detail investigators believe links the ship directly to the severed cable.

Police have now opened a criminal probe into aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage and serious interference with telecommunications, describing the cable - owned by Finnish provider Elisa - as critical underwater infrastructure.

All 14 crew members were detained, local media reported. 

The ship, the Fitburg, was sailing from Russia to Israel and is registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The crew includes nationals of Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Finnish National Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki told local media that investigators are not speculating on whether a state-level actor was behind the damage. 

Finnish authorities have seized a ship and detained a largely Russian crew amid suspicions it deliberately or recklessly cut a vital undersea cable by dragging its anchor through the Gulf of Finland (stock image)

The damage was discovered Wednesday on a telecommunications cable running between the Finnish and Estonian capitals, triggering an urgent security response from Helsinki amid growing fears over sabotage of Europe’s critical infrastructure

Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District Commander Mikko Simola attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, December 31, 2025

Koskimäki also said the ship had been dragging its anchor for hours.

'Finland is prepared for security challenges of various kinds, and we respond to them as necessary,' Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X.

The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries. 

They promote trade and energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources.

Earlier this year, Finnish authorities charged the captain and two senior officers of a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day in 2024.