Fitburg captain and bosun jailed over undersea cable damage

Helsinki District Court has sentenced the captain of the Fitburg to three years and six months in prison and the ship’s bosun to two years and 10 months for aggravated criminal damage, Yle reports. Both were ordered into custody immediately.

The captain, Russian national Andrei Maksimenko, is unhappy with the verdict, his lawyer Olli Etelämäki said. “There will certainly be work for the Court of Appeal,” he said. The ruling is not final.

The prosecution said the pair were responsible for the ship’s anchor damaging two undersea telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland on New Year’s Eve. They were also accused of attempting to damage eight other undersea cables.

According to the prosecution, the Fitburg dragged its anchor along the seabed for 130 kilometres, creating a serious risk to Finland’s telecommunications, electricity and gas networks.

Maksimenko and the Azerbaijani bosun, Vusal Majidov, denied committing a crime and asked the court to dismiss the charges. In court, Majidov said he was unsure whether the Fitburg caused the damage. Maksimenko said he did not know whether the ship had dragged its anchor along the seabed.