Finland lifts arrest of vessel detained in submarine cable sabotage case
Kyiv • UNN
Finnish authorities have lifted the arrest of the vessel Fitburg, which was detained on suspicion of sabotaging the Helsinki-Estonia telecommunications cable. Police have completed their work on board, but some crew members are prohibited from leaving Finland.
The Finnish authorities have announced the lifting of the arrest of a vessel that was detained on suspicion of sabotaging an underwater telecommunications cable running from Helsinki to Estonia through the Gulf of Finland. This was reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.
Details
Finnish law enforcement detained the cargo ship Fitburg on December 31 during a voyage from Russian St. Petersburg to Israeli Haifa.
Risto Lohi, head of the investigation group at the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, stated that the Finnish and Estonian police have completed their work on board the vessel, and therefore the arrest can be lifted.
At the same time, some crew members are prohibited from leaving Finland until the investigation is fully completed.
Additionally
The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert after a series of power cable, telecommunications line, and gas pipeline outages since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and NATO has increased its military presence with frigates, aircraft, and naval drones.
Recall
Earlier, UNN reported that Finland officially withdrew from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines on January 10, following similar steps by other countries. This decision allows Finland to reintroduce anti-personnel mines into its military arsenal.