On December 31, Finnish police announced that they had seized a cargo ship suspected of damaging undersea communication cables in the Gulf of Finland, along with 14 crew members from Russia and other countries. The Russian Embassy in Finland has requested further information from Finnish authorities. Ilkka Koskimäki, Director General of the Finnish National Police, said at a press conference that the detained vessel is 132 meters long, flies the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and had departed from Saint Petersburg, Russia, en route to the Israeli city of Haifa. The 14 detained crew members are from Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Finnish authorities suspect the vessel is “responsible for the damage to the undersea cable.” (Xinhua)