Finnish Court Dismisses Case Against Crew in Baltic Sea Cable Breach Trial
A Finnish court has dismissed a case against the crew of the Russian-linked tanker that damaged Baltic Sea cables last year, ruling prosecutors failed to prove intent and that alleged negligence must be pursued by the ship’s flag state or the crew’s home countries.
The December 25 incident was one of a string of cable and gas pipeline outages in the Baltic Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, putting NATO forces in the region on high alert. Russia has denied involvement in cable cutting.
Prosecutors to Decide on Appeal
Finnish prosecutors will decide within a week if they will appeal against the ruling, state prosecutor Jukka Rappe told Reuters. The criminal trial against the captain and two officers was among the first judicial attempts to punish suspected perpetrators for damaging critical underwater infrastructure, but was complicated by provisions of international maritime law and the difficulty of proving criminal intent.
Court Classifies Incident as “Navigation”
The court classified the case as an “incident of navigation”, saying prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient evidence to show the crew dragged the anchor intentionally. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, incidents of navigation must be prosecuted by the ship’s flag state or the defendants’ native countries, the court added.
Crew Blamed Technical Fault
The tanker, carrying Russian oil, dragged its 11,000 kg (24,000 lb) anchor for 90 km (56 miles) across the Gulf of Finland seabed, breaking the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power cable and four internet lines, prosecutors said. The charges alleged gross negligence on the part of the crew regarding the poor condition of the vessel’s anchor winch, rather than firm evidence that the anchor was intentionally dropped to cause damage, court documents showed.
The defendants stated at trial that the vessel’s anchor had dropped unnoticed due to technical faults in the winch that was supposed to hold it in place. The defendants also rejected the cable owners’ claims for tens of millions of euros in damages.
NATO Mission Continues
Following the incident, NATO launched “Baltic Sentry”, a mission to protect undersea infrastructure in the region. NATO said on Thursday the mission was ongoing. “Allies are keenly aware of the threats of hybrid warfare in the Baltic Sea and we continue to demonstrate unity and resolve in our efforts to protect critical infrastructure,” a NATO spokesperson said.
The state prosecutor had asked the court to sentence the defendants to prison for a minimum of two-and-a-half years each. The owners of the cables have suffered at least 60 million euros ($70 million) in immediate damage in the form of repair costs alone, the prosecutors’ office said in August.
Original Article: Finnish court dismisses case against crew in Baltic Sea cable breach trial — Reuters