The captain received 42 months in prison and the boatswain 34 months after a court found they intentionally dragged the ship’s anchor, damaging two cables. They must jointly pay about €1.9 million (about $2.1 million); the captain must pay another €85,000 (about $96,000).
Helsinki District Court convicted the Fitburg’s Russian captain, Andrei Maksimenko, and its Azerbaijani boatswain, Vusal Majidov, of aggravated criminal damage on 5 November. The court found that they intentionally dragged the cargo ship’s anchor along the seabed for about 130 kilometers, damaging two telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland.
Maksimenko received 42 months in prison and Majidov 34 months. They were ordered to pay about €1.9 million (about $2.1 million) jointly in damages, with Maksimenko to pay another approximately €85,000 (about $96,000).
Finnish authorities seized the ship on 31 December 2025 on suspicion that it had damaged cables linking Helsinki and Tallinn. The Fitburg was traveling from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel.
The damages order covers cable and gas-pipeline repair and investigation costs, Finnish broadcaster Yle said. Reuters supplied the payment amounts, as cited by DW.
The defendants denied wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction. The anchor was dragged outside Finnish territorial waters, but the court held that it could hear the case because the crimes were intentional and their consequences occurred in Finland.
The court found that the anchor’s locking mechanism worked and that the anchor was raised when the ship left St. Petersburg. It concluded that the anchor was lowered after departure and before the vessel left Russian territorial waters. It was raised only after Finnish authorities detected it dragging and notified the ship.
Both men must have known the anchor was down as the ship crossed the cables and a gas pipeline, the court found. Prosecutors had not alleged that Maksimenko expressly ordered the anchor lowered or that Majidov actively participated in lowering it.
The court found that Maksimenko accepted the ship continuing with the anchor dragging and bore greater responsibility because he commanded and navigated the vessel. It found that Majidov, who neglected his duty to ensure the anchor was raised while the ship was at sea, helped the ship continue for about two hours after Finnish authorities first contacted it.
The court found that seven other telecommunications and electricity cables and a gas pipeline were also at risk of damage. It said the damage and the danger of much greater harm posed a particularly serious threat to important societal functions.
The court ordered both men into immediate custody. Its judgment is not final and can be appealed. It dismissed separate aggravated telecommunications interference charges because it considered that conduct part of the aggravated criminal damage.
The defendants’ lawyers said their clients were disappointed. Maksimenko intends to appeal, his lawyer told Yle, while Majidov is considering an appeal. The prosecutor welcomed the jurisdiction decision and said the outcome broadly matched the prosecution’s view; prosecutors had not decided whether to appeal the dismissal of the telecommunications charges.
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