Finnish special forces worked on the capture of a ship in the Baltic Sea

Finnish special forces conducted international security exercises off the coast of Helsinki in the Baltic Sea. The Karhu unit worked out the landing from a helicopter on the deck of the ship for its capture and detention of people on board.

The exercise was led by the Finnish Border Guard. They also included the Southern Finland Tactical Emergency Medical Service, the Helsinki Rescue Unit MIRG, the Gulf of Finland Maritime Border Detachment and other agencies in the country. In addition, the exercises were joined by the Polish border service and the French Navy with their ships.

Ilya Ilyin, deputy commander of the Gulf Coast Guard, said the training was necessary due to the increasing incidence of damage to cables or pipelines in the Baltic Sea. According to him, the authorities began to react more quickly to such incidents.

“The last of these, the actions of the Fitburgh vessel, were reacted extremely quickly. As far as I remember, from the moment of discovery to the detention of the vessel, 4-5 hours passed, and this happened on a holiday, Ilyin said.

Finnish police intercepted the cargo ship Fitburg, en route from Russia to Israel, in December 2025. The captain and the boatsman were detained on suspicion of damaging two underwater telecommunications cables and attempting to damage eight others.

The Finnish Border Service is leading the ISM (Integrated Surveillance Mechanism) project in the Baltic Sea region. It is implemented on the basis of the EU plan and is aimed at ensuring the security of underwater infrastructure – communication cables, power grids and gas pipelines.