The Helsinki District Court has sentenced two crew members of the cargo vessel Fitburg for serious damage to subsea communication infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland on New Year's Eve. Russian captain Andrei Maksimenko received an unconditional prison sentence of 3 years and 6 months, and Azerbaijani boatswain (pursimies) Vusal Majidov received an unconditional prison sentence of 2 years and 10 months, both for aggravated criminal damage (törkeä tuhotyö). The court ordered that both men be immediately taken into custody and held jointly liable for compensation covering repair and investigation costs related to damaged and endangered subsea cables and a gas pipeline.

According to the Helsinki District Court, the incident took place on the morning of the last New Year's Eve (New Year's Eve morning) in the Gulf of Finland, on a sea area outside Finnish territorial waters but within the broader Finnish Gulf region. The vessel Fitburg dragged an anchor chain and attached anchor stock along the seabed for several hours over a distance of about 130 kilometres, during which two subsea telecommunications cables were damaged. In addition, seven other telecommunications and power cables and a gas pipeline were exposed to the risk of damage. The court found that these acts caused particularly serious danger to vital functions of society.

The court determined that it had jurisdiction to handle the case in Finland because the offences were intentional and their consequences materialised in Finland. It concluded that the anchor locking mechanism was operational and that the anchor had been hoisted up when the vessel departed from the port of Saint Petersburg the previous day. The anchor must therefore have been lowered at some point after leaving Saint Petersburg and before the ship exited Russian territorial waters. The anchor was finally hoisted on New Year's Eve morning only after Finnish authorities had observed that Fitburg was towing its anchor and notified the vessel about it.

The charges of aggravated interference with telecommunications were dismissed by the court on the grounds that this conduct was encompassed within the aggravated criminal damage for which the captain and boatswain were convicted. The prosecution had demanded at least two and a half years of imprisonment for aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The final prison sentences handed down by the court exceeded the prosecutor's minimum demand.

The court's detailed reasoning held that although the indictment did not claim the captain explicitly ordered the anchor to be lowered, nor that the boatswain physically participated in lowering it, both men must have been aware that the anchor was down while the vessel was under way and crossing the cables and gas pipeline. The court assessed that the captain accepted the vessel's continued movement while dragging the anchor chain and stock along the seabed, and that the boatswain actively contributed to the vessel continuing for about two hours after Finnish authorities first contacted the ship. The boatswain was also found to have neglected his duty to ensure that the anchor was raised while the vessel navigated at sea.

The court noted that the captain bore overall responsibility for the command, navigation, and operation of the vessel, and therefore assessed his culpability as greater than that of the boatswain. The case was adjudicated by a panel of three district judges, and the decision was unanimous. The judgment is not yet legally final and can be appealed to the Court of Appeal (hovioikeus).

Both convicted seamen deny criminal responsibility. During the district court proceedings, boatswain Vusal Majidov stated that he was not certain whether Fitburg had caused the damage to the subsea cables. Captain Andrei Maksimenko told the court that he did not know whether his vessel had been dragging its anchor on the seabed, and in preliminary investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP), he strongly denied that Fitburg caused the cable damage. The article notes that Yle is publishing the names of the convicted individuals because the case is considered to be of significant societal importance.

Police pre-trial investigation material includes photographs and video evidence, including at least one video showing the vessel's anchor chain being hoisted from the sea. In a court information release quoted in the article, the district court stated that, given the damage caused and the significantly greater damage that could have occurred, the act caused particularly serious danger to important societal functions.

Yle references several other related articles providing further context on the case and prior hearings: one where the Russian captain describes the accident night as still a "paradox" to him; another focusing on the boatswain being woken up to check the anchor and stating he was very nervous; a piece describing how the captain initially denied everything before being confronted with key evidence by the National Bureau of Investigation; and an article about the crew's shocked reaction as the full extent of the damage became known. Defense lawyers reached by Yle after sentencing reported that the seamen are disappointed by the judgment, while a separate linked article states that the prosecutor is satisfied with the outcome.

The incident involved subsea telecommunications and power infrastructure, as well as a gas pipeline, in the Gulf of Finland, an area that is strategically important for regional connectivity and energy flows between Finland and neighbouring states. The court's findings emphasise intentional conduct and awareness by the ship's captain and boatswain, though the defendants continue to deny intent or knowledge. The case is treated domestically as a serious criminal matter with significant implications for critical infrastructure resilience, irrespective of whether it is formally characterised as part of broader hybrid-warfare activity.

The Helsinki District Court has sentenced two crew members of the cargo vessel Fitburg for serious damage to subsea communication infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland on New Year's Eve. Russian captain Andrei Maksimenko received an unconditional prison sentence of 3 years and 6 months, and Azerbaijani boatswain (pursimies) Vusal Majidov received an unconditional prison sentence of 2 years and 10 months, both for aggravated criminal damage (törkeä tuhotyö). The court ordered that both men be immediately taken into custody and held jointly liable for compensation covering repair and investigation costs related to damaged and endangered subsea cables and a gas pipeline.

According to the Helsinki District Court, the incident took place on the morning of the last New Year's Eve (New Year's Eve morning) in the Gulf of Finland, on a sea area outside Finnish territorial waters but within the broader Finnish Gulf region. The vessel Fitburg dragged an anchor chain and attached anchor stock along the seabed for several hours over a distance of about 130 kilometres, during which two subsea telecommunications cables were damaged. In addition, seven other telecommunications and power cables and a gas pipeline were exposed to the risk of damage. The court found that these acts caused particularly serious danger to vital functions of society.

The court determined that it had jurisdiction to handle the case in Finland because the offences were intentional and their consequences materialised in Finland. It concluded that the anchor locking mechanism was operational and that the anchor had been hoisted up when the vessel departed from the port of Saint Petersburg the previous day. The anchor must therefore have been lowered at some point after leaving Saint Petersburg and before the ship exited Russian territorial waters. The anchor was finally hoisted on New Year's Eve morning only after Finnish authorities had observed that Fitburg was towing its anchor and notified the vessel about it.

The charges of aggravated interference with telecommunications were dismissed by the court on the grounds that this conduct was encompassed within the aggravated criminal damage for which the captain and boatswain were convicted. The prosecution had demanded at least two and a half years of imprisonment for aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The final prison sentences handed down by the court exceeded the prosecutor's minimum demand.

The court's detailed reasoning held that although the indictment did not claim the captain explicitly ordered the anchor to be lowered, nor that the boatswain physically participated in lowering it, both men must have been aware that the anchor was down while the vessel was under way and crossing the cables and gas pipeline. The court assessed that the captain accepted the vessel's continued movement while dragging the anchor chain and stock along the seabed, and that the boatswain actively contributed to the vessel continuing for about two hours after Finnish authorities first contacted the ship. The boatswain was also found to have neglected his duty to ensure that the anchor was raised while the vessel navigated at sea.

The court noted that the captain bore overall responsibility for the command, navigation, and operation of the vessel, and therefore assessed his culpability as greater than that of the boatswain. The case was adjudicated by a panel of three district judges, and the decision was unanimous. The judgment is not yet legally final and can be appealed to the Court of Appeal (hovioikeus).

Both convicted seamen deny criminal responsibility. During the district court proceedings, boatswain Vusal Majidov stated that he was not certain whether Fitburg had caused the damage to the subsea cables. Captain Andrei Maksimenko told the court that he did not know whether his vessel had been dragging its anchor on the seabed, and in preliminary investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP), he strongly denied that Fitburg caused the cable damage. The article notes that Yle is publishing the names of the convicted individuals because the case is considered to be of significant societal importance.

Police pre-trial investigation material includes photographs and video evidence, including at least one video showing the vessel's anchor chain being hoisted from the sea. In a court information release quoted in the article, the district court stated that, given the damage caused and the significantly greater damage that could have occurred, the act caused particularly serious danger to important societal functions.

Yle references several other related articles providing further context on the case and prior hearings: one where the Russian captain describes the accident night as still a "paradox" to him; another focusing on the boatswain being woken up to check the anchor and stating he was very nervous; a piece describing how the captain initially denied everything before being confronted with key evidence by the National Bureau of Investigation; and an article about the crew's shocked reaction as the full extent of the damage became known. Defense lawyers reached by Yle after sentencing reported that the seamen are disappointed by the judgment, while a separate linked article states that the prosecutor is satisfied with the outcome.

The incident involved subsea telecommunications and power infrastructure, as well as a gas pipeline, in the Gulf of Finland, an area that is strategically important for regional connectivity and energy flows between Finland and neighbouring states. The court's findings emphasise intentional conduct and awareness by the ship's captain and boatswain, though the defendants continue to deny intent or knowledge. The case is treated domestically as a serious criminal matter with significant implications for critical infrastructure resilience, irrespective of whether it is formally characterised as part of broader hybrid-warfare activity.