Authorities from Finland have boarded and seized a cargo vessel sailing from Russia on suspicion of sabotaging two underwater telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea, reports the Guardian.

The incident is one of several that have occurred in the past few years, with the suspected sabotage of cables in the Baltic Sea representing part of a hybrid war carried out by Russia against western countries.

A helicopter was sent to investigate the Fitburg, about six hours after disruption to the cables was first reported. The crew found that the ship was dragging its anchor along the bottom of the seabed. “At this stage, it is still too early to assess whether this was an intentional act or an accident,” Helsinki’s deputy police chief Heikki Kopperoinen told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

In January, Nato stepped up its naval presence in the area, with operation “Baltic Sentry.” It came after Finnish commandos seized another ship, the Eagle S, on Christmas Day 2024 when it damaged critical infrastructure. A court in Helsinki later acquitted its crew on the grounds the incident took place outside Finnish territorial waters.