Russian captain suspected in undersea cable break denies all charges
Captain Andrei Maksimenko of the vessel Fitburg denied aggravated sabotage charges in court over damage to undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland. His case is being heard at the Helsinki District Court.
Finnish authorities suspect the captain and boatswain of the vessel Fitburg of aggravated sabotage after two undersea cables were damaged in the Gulf of Finland. During the pre-trial investigation, captain Andrei Maksimenko categorically denied that the ship under his command could have damaged the cables.
On Monday, September 21, Maksimenko, who stands accused of aggravated sabotage, is being heard at the Helsinki District Court. According to Finnish broadcaster Yle, the captain stated that he noticed nothing unusual before the cables were damaged.
The anchor and frozen mud
During court questioning, Maksimenko said that when he took command of the vessel, its starboard anchor was covered in frozen mud, which he said resulted from the ship having earlier shifted from its anchorage near St. Petersburg during bad weather. According to the captain, the anchor's condition raised no concern, and neither crew reports nor observations indicated any fault.
On December 31, when Finnish authorities asked vessels in the area to check their anchors, the boatswain reportedly noticed nothing unusual. The Finnish Border Guard later reported that the Fitburg's anchor was in the water. Maksimenko said he was "extremely surprised" and ordered the ship's speed reduced.
The captain said neither he nor the first mate noticed anything unusual in the vessel's movement, and that he still does not understand what happened that night. "To me it's still a mystery," Maksimenko said.
Video lacks location data
The prosecutor asked Maksimenko whether the ship had been dragging its anchor along the seabed. The captain replied he could neither confirm nor deny this, as he does not know what occurred. The prosecutor said Maksimenko had been shown video footage of the ship dragging an anchor, but the captain said the footage only showed an anchor chain in the water, with no location data or other information needed to determine whether the anchor was dragged along the seabed.
Maksimenko also maintains that lowering an anchor unnoticed while underway is impossible — he said that if the anchor had been dragging along the bottom, it would have been noticeable through vibration and a change in the ship's course.
