Finland Seizes Ship Sailing from Russia Suspected of Cutting Undersea Cables

What Happened?

Finnish police have boarded and taken control of a vessel sailing from Russia, suspected of sabotaging an undersea telecommunications cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. The seized cargo vessel, which was registered as the ‘Fitburg’ had recently departed from the Russian port of St Petersburg on its way to Israel at the time of the incident, according to Finland's Border Guard authority.

‘At the moment we suspect aggravated disruption of telecommunications and also aggravated sabotage and attempted aggravated sabotage,’ Helsinki Chief of Police Jari Liukku said to reporters during a recent press conference.

Why it Matters

Since 2022, which is when Russia invaded Ukraine, several telecommunications, power and gas line outages are suspected to have been the result of undersea sabotage in the Baltic Sea region. After Swedish and Finnish authorities requested assistance, the European Commission earmarked over one billion Euros to help improve surveillance and security for undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. That meant more European Union and NATO ships and planes in the area alongside an increasing number of Russian ships and planes in the same region.

European leaders have publicly stated they are concerned about hybrid-warfare attacks on their infrastructure emanating from Russia, but to date, there has been no conclusive evidence proving that Russian forces have been behind the incidents. Hybrid warfare refers to the use of force against critical infrastructure like power lines and undersea communications cables and other civilian equipment, but that force is typically carried out in secret by individuals not wearing any uniforms or identifying insignia. 

The goal of hybrid war is not to inflict large-scale destruction but rather to keep an enemy off balance by disrupting their normal daily life and operations. Power and communications outages are exactly the type of objectives hybrid warfare specialists seek to achieve. Russia has a long history of conducting those types of attacks in Georgia, Chechnya, Ukraine, and probably the Baltic States. Russia is skilled enough to carry out hybrid attacks without leaving behind direct evidence of its involvement. 

The increased security by the European Union in the Baltic Sea has put more NATO ships and planes in close proximity to Russian ships and planes. With so many naval and air assets close together, the odds of an accidental incident where one side or the other opens fire have increased, and such incidents could trigger an international crisis or even direct conflict between Russia and NATO. 

How it Affects You

European authorities' inability to prove Russian complicity in undersea infrastructure attacks will probably not last forever. Even skilled and careful operations can go awry or make mistakes, and if a direct link to Russia is found, it will likely increase already high tensions in the Baltic Sea between the European Union and Russia.