Swedish security services spokesperson Johan Wikstrom on Monday said officers had boarded a tanker after prosecutors launched a probe into a damaged fiber optic cable from to .
The investigation comes after the cable under the Baltic Sea, used by Latvian state media, was . Latvia, which deployed a warship in the immediate aftermath, claims the damage was likely caused by “external influence.”
Previous incidents of reported data cable breakages on the Baltic seabed have been linked to — hundreds of aging tankers with opaque ownership structures used to skirt sanctions.
What we know so far
“We can confirm that persons from Swedish authorities have been on board the vessel to carry out investigative measures,” Wikstrom said.
The Maltese-flagged, Bulgarian-owned tanker “Vezhen” was seized in connection with the latest breach of cables that cross the Baltic, he added.
Data from the VesselFinder tracking website on Monday showed the Vezhen some 6.3 nautical miles (12 kilometers) south of the Swedish port of Karlskorona. Two Swedish patrol vessels were shown moored near to it.
The Swedish prosecutor in charge of the case, Mats Ljungqvist, told the French AFP news agency the ship was “suspected of aggravated sabotage.”
He said staff from several Swedish authorities had been on board the vessel since Sunday evening.
“The case is primarily being handled by [intelligence agency] Sapo, and I am in charge of the preliminary investigation. We are also receiving excellent assistance from the Swedish coastguard, the Swedish police’s National Operations Department as well as the military,” he said.
What the ship owners are saying
Tracking data showed that the vessel had departed from Russia several days before the damage happened and that it was between the Swedish island of Gotland and Latvia when the damage occurred early on Sunday.
While the CEO of the vessel owner Navibulgar said the Vezhen might have caused a cable to break, he dismissed any possibility of sabotage by the crew.
He said an inspection by the crew on Sunday found that “one of the ship’s anchors was damaged and the anchor had dropped into the sea, which means that it was possible that it had dragged along the seafloor.” The anchor was then pulled up, he said.
“I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released,” Kalchev added.
What the politicians have said
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said her government was “working together with our Swedish Allies and NATO on investigating the incident, including to patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said been “in close contact” with Silina during Sunday.
The rupture follows a that have raised fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region.
earlier this month. The monitoring operation involves frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide “enhanced surveillance and deterrence” to protect undersea infrastructure.
rc/wmr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
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