Finnish authorities have seized the Fitburg cargo vessel after determining it was carrying steel products subject to EU sanctions, according to Finnish outlet Yle. The vessel was initially detained in relation to suspected damage to an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland.
The ship is suspected of being linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of vessels used to transport sanctioned Russian goods while concealing their origin through flags of convenience, layered ownership, and indirect shipping routes.
The Fitburg was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Israel when Finnish police and the Border Guard took control of the vessel on December 31.
Finland investigating suspected sabotage after cable outage
Reuters reported that the ship is suspected of damaging an undersea telecommunications cable linking Finland and Estonia, a route targeted in a series of similar incidents in recent years. Helsinki Chief of Police Jari Liukku said the case is being investigated as aggravated disruption of telecommunications and possible sabotage.
Officials in Estonia said a second cable also suffered an outage. The European Commission said it is closely monitoring the situation.
Customs found sanctioned Russian steel in the cargo hold
Finnish customs officials said the vessel was carrying structural steel. According to the officials, the cargo falls under EU sectoral sanctions that prohibit imports of certain Russian-origin steel products into the European Union.
The cargo has been detained while authorities assess whether sanctions law applies. A preliminary inquiry has been opened to determine whether a formal criminal investigation will follow.
Finnish customs carried out an onboard inspection on Wednesday, examining the vessel’s cargo holds and deck structures. Customs Director Mikko Grönberg said authorities had prior information indicating the cargo was covered by sanctions and detained it immediately, before completing the full inspection.
Ship sails under Caribbean flag with Turkish operator and multinational crew
The Fitburg sails under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is operated by a Turkish company. Its 14 crew members, who are Russian, Georgian, Kazakh, and Azerbaijani nationals, were held by Finnish authorities.
The ship is not listed on official EU sanctions registers. However, the Open Sanctions database had previously flagged the Fitburg as a vessel of interest, a designation often used to identify ships potentially involved in Russia-linked sanctions evasion.
NATO states bordering the Baltic Sea have remained on heightened alert for sabotage and hybrid threats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
