The Fitburg captain and boatswain have been sentenced to prison by a Finnish court for aggravated sabotage after the cargo vessel damaged two submarine telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland on 31 December 2025.
The Helsinki District Court ruled on 5 November 2026 that Russian captain Andrei Maksimenko must serve three years and six months in prison, while Azerbaijani boatswain Vusal Majidov received a sentence of two years and ten months. Both men were taken into custody immediately following the judgment.
According to the court’s official statement, Fitburg dragged its anchor chain and anchor stock along approximately 130 kilometres of seabed over several hours while sailing outside Finnish territorial waters.
The dragging equipment crossed nine telecommunications and power cables and a gas pipeline. Two telecommunications cables were damaged, while seven other cables and the pipeline were exposed to the risk of damage.
Investigators established that the vessel’s anchor had been raised and secured when it departed St Petersburg on 30 December 2025. The anchor was subsequently lowered before the ship left Russian territorial waters, although prosecutors did not allege that the captain ordered it lowered or that the boatswain actively participated in lowering it.
The court nevertheless concluded that both men must have known the vessel was proceeding with its anchor down. It found that the captain accepted the continued voyage and that the boatswain actively contributed to the ship remaining underway for approximately two hours after Finnish authorities first contacted the crew.
The judges determined that the conduct created particularly serious danger to essential societal functions. They also concluded that the relatively limited damage, compared with the potential consequences, was partly attributable to chance.
The captain received the longer prison sentence because of his overall responsibility for the vessel’s operation and navigation.
Fitburg, sailing under the flag of St Vincent and the Grenadines, was travelling from St Petersburg to Israel when Finnish authorities intercepted the vessel on 31 December. The ship was subsequently released.
The defendants denied wrongdoing and challenged Finland’s jurisdiction, arguing that the incident occurred outside its territorial waters. The court rejected the argument, finding that the offences were intentional and their consequences were felt in Finland.
According to Reuters, the court ordered the defendants to jointly pay approximately €1.9 million in damages, with the captain liable for an additional €85,000. The compensation relates to the inspection and repair costs associated with the affected subsea infrastructure.
A separate charge of aggravated interference with telecommunications was dismissed because the court considered the offence covered by the aggravated sabotage conviction.
The unanimous judgment followed eight days of hearings held between 8 September and 8 October 2026.
The ruling is not final and remains subject to appeal. The captain intends to challenge the verdict, while the boatswain had not decided whether to appeal, Reuters reported.
