On the afternoon of December 31, 2025, Finnish special forces fast-roped from helicopters onto the cargo ship Fitburg, which damaged Elisa’s cables between Estonia and Finland in the Gulf of Finland. The ship was en route from St. Petersburg to the Israeli port of Haifa.
The Fitburg, sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was detained after an act of sabotage. The Finnish Border Guard released video of the operation.
According to ERR, the communications cable link between Finland and Estonia was damaged in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone. At the time of the damage, the cargo ship Fitburg was above the cables and moving toward Finland’s economic zone.
At 11:05, Finnish special forces boarded from Navy and Border Guard helicopters. Fourteen crew members were on board, including citizens of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Finnish Customs said the Fitburg was carrying Russian-made steel products subject to EU sanctions. The cargo was seized.
Two people were arrested, and police barred two other sailors from leaving Finland.
Earlier, the tanker Eagle S, part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” was detained by the Finnish Border Guard on December 25, 2024, on suspicion of damaging the Estlink 2 undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia. On December 27, the British shipping outlet Lloyd’s List, citing anonymous sources, reported that spy devices were found on the tanker detained by Finland. After a court hearing last fall, the Helsinki District Court said it lacked jurisdiction in the case.
