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Sweden seizes ship after suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage

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Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable passing under the Baltic Sea to Latvia.

The Vezhen, a Maltese-flagged ship, is anchored outside the Swedish port of Karlskrona.

Prosecutors said preliminary investigations indicated an act of sabotage. An investigation has been opened involving the Swedish police, army and coast guard.

Pictures published by Swedish media showed that the ship’s anchor appeared to be damaged.

However, Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which included the Vezhen in its fleet, said on Monday that one of the ship’s anchors had fallen to the bottom of the sea due to strong winds, and that there was no malicious intent.

The Latvian army reported on Sunday that three ships were seen in the area where the damage occurred.

Less than a month ago, NATO launched a new mission in the Baltic Sea in response to repeated attacks on underwater power and communications cables — some of which were blamed on Russia.

Latvian Prime Minister Ivica Selina said that her country is working closely with Sweden and NATO in response to the incident.

The cable is owned by Latvia’s state broadcaster, LVRTC, which said in a statement that there would be “interruptions in data transmission services,” but that end users would mostly not be affected.

Earlier this month, NATO launched its new mission in the Baltic Sea, after several cables under the Baltic Sea were damaged or cut in 2024.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the mission will include more patrol aircraft, warships and drones.

While Russia has not been directly identified as the culprit in the cable damage, Rutte said NATO would intensify its monitoring of Moscow’s “shadow fleet” — ships that have no clear ownership and are used to transport banned oil products.

Rutte said there was “reason for serious concern” about the damage to infrastructure, adding that NATO would respond to any future incidents forcefully, with more boarding of suspected vessels, and confiscation of them if necessary.

Finnish police said late last year that they were investigating whether a Russian ship was involved in sabotaging an electrical cable running between Finland and Estonia.

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2025-01-27 10:00:00

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