Finnish authorities on Monday charged the Russian captain and a senior crew member of a cargo ship suspected of severing two undersea telecommunications cables linking Finland and Estonia on New Year's Eve.
The Fitburg, a cargo vessel traveling from Russia to Israel, was boarded by Finnish authorities on December 31 after it was suspected of intentionally dropping its anchor to damage communications infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland.
The ship's Russian captain and another senior crew member, a citizen of Azerbaijan, were charged with "aggravated criminal mischief" and "aggravated interference with telecommunications," Finland's National Prosecution Authority said in a statement.
Investigators allege the defendants cut two telecommunications cables and attempted to destroy eight other undersea connections by dragging a damaged anchor across the seabed for at least 130 kilometers (80 miles) before Finnish authorities forced the vessel to stop.
The National Prosecution Authority stated that it will decide whether to press charges against two other officers from the ship at a later date.
