Police Investigate Cable Damage in the Gulf of Finland in Cooperation with Other Authorities

Telecommunications service provider Elisa's telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn has been damaged.

Telecommunications provider Elisa detected a fault in the company’s telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn early in the morning on 31 December 2025. Elisa reported the issue to the Border Guard's Operations Centre. Under the leadership of the Border Guard, an immediate investigation was initiated into the damage to the underwater critical infrastructure.

The Border Guard located a vessel suspected of being responsible for the damage to the cable. The damage site reported by Elisa was within Estonia's exclusive economic zone. The Border Guard's patrol vessel Turva and helicopter found the suspected vessel within Finland's exclusive economic zone. The vessel's anchor chain was found to be lowered into the sea. The Border Guard instructed the vessel to stop and raise the anchor. The Border Guard also requested that the vessel move to a safe anchorage within Finnish territorial waters.

Finnish authorities have taken control of the vessel as part of a joint operation. Responsibility for leading the investigation has been transferred from the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard to the Helsinki Police Department.
The police have been in contact with the National Prosecutor's Office, and the Prosecutor General has issued a prosecution order. At this stage, the police are investigating the incident as aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications.

The police are investigating the incident in cooperation with several national and international authorities, and further information will be provided as soon as possible.

The operation involves, in addition to the police and the Border Guard, the Finnish Defence Forces, Customs, Traficom, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes), and Finngrid.