Finnish police arrest two crew members on ship suspected of cable sabotage as defence minister brushes off Moscow's offer of "assistance" to the ship's crew

Finnish police have formally arrested two crew members of the Fitburg, a cargo ship suspected of breaking a data cable between Finland and Estonia on New Year’s Eve. Two other crew members have been placed under travel bans.

Police declined to comment on the nationalities of the individuals.

Authorities began interrogations of crew members on Thursday. They have also launched an underwater investigation of the site around the broken cable.

"Investigative measures have been carried out on the ship and the crew has been interviewed. We are now assessing the situation and the role of the crew," said Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi of the National Bureau of Investigation.

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Damage to an Elisa telecommunications cable was discovered early on Wednesday morning. Finnish authorities seized the Fitburg, which is suspected of damaging the cable, later that same day. The vessel is now at Kantvik port in Kirkkonummi.

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Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen (NCP) confirmed in an interview with Iltalehti on Thursday evening that Russia has offered assistance to the ship’s crew.

According to Häkkänen, Russia has always offered some kind of assistance in cases of hybrid influencing.

"In this case, I will not take a position on what is actually behind it. It should be approached normally and calmly," Häkkänen told IL.

The cargo ship was en route from St Petersburg to Haifa, Israel, carrying a cargo of steel.

According to Häkkänen, it is natural for Moscow to make such offers of assistance.

"But we operate according to our own procedures," he added.