Vessel Held In Finland After Suspected Baltic Cable Sabotage

""At the moment, we suspect ‌aggravated disruption of telecommunications and also aggravated sabotage and attempted aggravated sabotage," Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku told reporters. Eight NATO countries, along with Russia, border the Baltic Sea. The alliance bolstered its presence in the Baltic with ships, aircraft, and naval drones following a string of incidents involving damage to energy and communications lines amid the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022."

"Finnish authorities seized a cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea that is suspected of damaging cables in Estonian waters in a possible sabotage incident, police in Helsinki told reporters. The ship is registered to St. Vincent and Grenadine but crewed by Russians, Georgians, Kazakhs, and Azerbaijanis, authorities said on December 31. All 14 were being held by Finnish authorities. According toMarineTraffic data site, the ship had left the Russian city of St. Petersburg and was traveling to the port of Haifa in Israel."

Finnish authorities seized a cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea after tracking it in the Finnish economic zone and boarding the ship. The vessel, registered to St. Vincent and Grenadine, was crewed by Russians, Georgians, Kazakhs, and Azerbaijanis, and all 14 crew members were detained. Finnish police suspect aggravated disruption of telecommunications and aggravated sabotage, linked to damage to a cable connecting Helsinki and Tallinn. MarineTraffic showed the ship had departed St. Petersburg bound for Haifa. NATO increased naval presence in the Baltic after prior incidents, and investigations continue into possible links with a shadow fleet or sabotage networks.

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