At the request of Latvia, Norwegian police have arrested a Russian-crewed vessel belonging to a Norwegian company on suspicion of the vessel being involved in damaging of a cable in the Baltic Sea, Norway reported on Friday, the 31st of January.
“The ship is suspected of causing serious damage to the fibre optic cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden. The police are currently on board to search, interrogate and secure evidence,” the police report.
It should be noted that the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) has managed to reach an agreement on the commencement of repair works with the company that will repair the damaged marine fibre optic cable, representatives of the LVRTC told LETA.
The company pointed out that it will be possible to start repair work as soon as the interests of the investigation allow it, as well as taking into account the weather conditions in the Baltic Sea.
LVRTC has now completed most of the preparatory work that needs to be done before starting cable repair work. The operation of the cable in both directions has been measured, as well as the operation of the equipment located in Gotland has been tested.
LVRTC has also provided the materials necessary for cable repairs, engineers have checked their quality and compliance, and the materials have been delivered to the port from where the repair ship will start work.
Chairman of the Board of the LVRTC Ģirts Ozols informed that the centre hopes to start repair work in the week following the approval of the competent authorities of Sweden and Latvia.
In the early morning of the 26th of January, 2025, LVRTC underwater fibre optic cable in the Baltic Sea connecting Ventspils and Gotland was damaged. Damage to the cable was found in Swedish exclusive economic waters about 130 km from the coast of Latvia.
Latvian State Police have initiated criminal proceedings for the incident in accordance with two sections of the Criminal Law, namely, the intentional destruction and damage of property if it has caused serious consequences, and the intentional destruction and damage of the public electronic communications network if it has caused serious consequences.
Accordingly, the Swedish authorities arrested a ship on the 26th of January.
The Swedish prosecutor’s office also reported that an investigation into “aggravated sabotage” has been opened. The initial investigation is led by the Swedish Security Service, but several institutions are involved, including the Swedish police, the coast guard and the Swedish Armed Forces.
The ship Vezhen, owned by Bulgarian “Navigation Maritime Bulgares”, has been arrested in connection with the incident in Sweden. The vessel, carrying a cargo of artificial fertilizer, left the port of Ust-Luga in Russia on Friday, the 24th of January and was en route to Skagen in Denmark. The ship crossed the area of the cable connecting Latvia to the island of Gotland at around 1 o’clock on the 26th of January.
Bulgarian “Navigation Maritime Bulgares”, meanwhile, denies intentionally damaging the underwater optic cable connecting Latvia and Sweden.
Photographs from the ship show one of its anchors missing a blade, but it’s unclear when this damage occurred.
No one has been detained in connection with the investigation yet. The ship’s crew consists of eight Bulgarian and nine Myanmar nationals.