Charges filed over New Year’s cable damage in Gulf of Finland

Prosecutors have filed serious charges against two crew members of the cargo ship Fitburg over damage to telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland on New Year’s Eve, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The accused are the ship’s Russian captain and an Azerbaijani first mate. They face charges of aggravated destruction of property and aggravated interference with telecommunications, offences that carry a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of ten years in prison.

The Fitburg, registered under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is suspected of damaging two telecommunications cables in Estonia’s economic zone, with some of the damage occurring in Finnish territorial waters. The ship had a crew of 14 at the time.

Police initially detained the first mate, but he was released from pre-trial detention in March. The National Bureau of Investigations completed its preliminary investigation last week.

Four crew members were initially suspected, but charges were ultimately brought against two. The crew included nationals from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.