Sweden seizes ship that departed from Russia over Baltic Sea cable damage
Swedish prosecutors have ordered the detainment of a Malta-flagged vessel and opened an investigation into suspected “aggravated sabotage” after damage to an undersea fibre optic cable in the Baltic Sea on 26 January 2025, AP reports.
This is the fourth undersea cable sabotage incident in the Baltic Sea since late 2023.
According to AP, the Swedish Coast Guard confirmed to Expressen they were on site with the seized ship Vezhen, which is now anchored near the naval port of Sweden’s Karlskrona. According to Vesselfinder data cited by AP, the vessel had departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga days earlier and was navigating between Gotland and Latvia when the suspected damage occurred.
“Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation,” senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said, according to AP.
Undersea cable damage
The incident came to light when Latvia’s state-run radio and TV centre recorded disruptions in data transmission on the cable connecting the town of Ventspils to Sweden’s Gotland island.
The Latvian navy dispatched patrol boats to investigate multiple vessels in the area, according to Reuters. MarineTraffic data showed the Vezhen passed the fibre optic cable at 0045 GMT on 26 January before being escorted to Swedish waters by a Swedish coastguard vessel.
NATO has deployed ships and aircraft under its recently launched “Baltic Sentry” mission to investigate the incident, the alliance said in a statement reported by Reuters. The Telegraph notes this comes days after Russia’s allegations that NATO vessels carry “abuses” in the Baltic Sea under the guise of this patrol mission.
The damaged cable, laid at depths exceeding 50 meters, is expected to be repaired within weeks, unlike gas pipelines and power cables which typically require months of repairs, Reuters says. Latvia’s state-run radio and TV centre continues operations using alternative data transmission routes.
Credit: https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/01/27/sweden-seizes-ship-that-departed-from-russia-over-baltic-sea-cable-damage/
