The Deputy Prosecutor General has brought charges for aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications against the captain and the bosun of the cargo vessel Fitburg, registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The charges also include alternative indictments.
Decisions on charges regarding two other ship officers suspected of an offence will be made at a later stage.
The captain and the bosun are suspected of having damaged two subsea telecommunications cables and of having attempted to damage a total of eight other subsea connections when Fitburg dragged its damaged anchor along the seabed in the Gulf of Finland for a distance of at least 130 kilometres, until the vessel’s movement was halted by measures taken by Finnish authorities.
The prosecutor considers that, in addition to causing significant immediate damage, the act posed a serious risk to the functioning of telecommunications, electricity and gas networks in Finland.
In the preliminary investigation, the defendants have denied that they committed the offences. They also consider that Finland lacks jurisdiction in the case, as the locations of the cable damages are outside Finnish territorial waters.
The application for a summons has been submitted to the Helsinki District Court, which will determine the date for the hearing of the case and, if necessary, resolve the issue of Finnish jurisdiction (prosecutor’s case number R SY/2026/2795, district court case number R 706/2026/11841). The trial materials will be made public at the beginning of the hearing, unless the District Court decides otherwise.
A State Prosecutor, a Senior Special Prosecutor and a District Prosecutor have been appointed to prosecute the case in court.
For more information, please contact Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe, jukka.rappe(at)oikeus.fi, tel. +358 50 543 1182.
