Finnish police have detained a vessel suspected of damaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. The cargo vessel, the Fitburg, was sailing from St Petersburg to the port of Haifa in Israel, under the flag of St Vincent and Grenadines. All 14 crew members were arrested after the cable owned by Finnish telecom provider Elisa was damaged. The operator stated that the damage did not affect its services, which were re-routed. Authorities are investigating possible aggravated sabotage and disruption of telecommunications. The detained crew members originate from several countries, including Russia and Georgia.

Undersea cables are essential for global data and electricity transmission, and the Baltic Sea has experienced multiple instances of cable damages recently. The Finnish coastguard intervened when the vessel was found dragging its anchor, investigating the incident as aggravated criminal damage. President Alexander Stubb stated that Finland is prepared for various security challenges, and the incident is under thorough investigation. Additionally, Estonia's government reported outages to another telecom cable, raising concerns about potential deliberate actions as geopolitical tensions heighten in the region related to Russia's activities in Ukraine.