Swedish security services spokesman Johan Wikström said on Monday that officers had boarded a tanker after prosecutors launched an investigation into the damaged fiber optic cable from Sweden to Latvia.
The investigation comes after an undersea cable used by Latvian state media was damaged early Sunday. Latvia, which deployed a warship in the immediate aftermath, claims the damage was probably caused by “external influence”.
Previous incidents of data cable breakages reported on the Baltic seabed have been linked to Russia’s shadow fleet – hundreds of old tankers with opaque ownership structures used to evade sanctions.
what we know so far
“We can confirm that people from the Swedish authorities have boarded the ship to conduct investigative actions,” Wikström said.
The Maltese-flagged, Bulgarian-owned tanker “Vezen” was seized in connection with the latest breach of cables crossing the Baltic, he said.
Data from the VesselFinder tracking website on Monday showed Wezen about 6.3 nautical miles (12 kilometers) south of the Swedish port of Karlskrona. Two Swedish patrol vessels were shown moored near it.
The Swedish prosecutor in charge of the case, Mats Ljungqvist, told the French AFP news agency that the ship was “suspected of serious sabotage.”
He said several Swedish authorities’ personnel had been on the ship since Sunday evening.
“The matter is being handled primarily by [intelligence agency] Sappho, and I am in charge of the preliminary investigation. “We are receiving excellent support from the Swedish Coast Guard, the Swedish Police’s national operations department as well as the army,” he said.
What are the ship owners saying?
Tracking data showed the ship had left Russia several days before the damage occurred and was between the Swedish island of Gotland and Latvia when the damage occurred on Sunday morning.
While the CEO of Navibulgar, the ship’s owner, said the cable may have broken due to Vazen, 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 fallen into the sea, which means it is possible that it was dragged along the seabed.” After this the anchor was pulled, he said.
Kalachev said, “I hope that investigators will soon establish that this is not a case of any deliberate action, but a technical incident caused by bad weather and that the ship will be abandoned.”
what have the leaders said
Latvian Prime Minister Ivica Silina said his government was “working closely with our Swedish allies and NATO on the investigation of the incident, including patrolling the area as well as inspection of ships in the area.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson said he was “in close contact” with Silena during Sunday.
The breach follows a series of incidents that have raised fears of Russian subversion and espionage in the strategic region.
NATO launched a new mission earlier this month called “Baltic Sentry.” The surveillance operation involves a fleet of frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and naval drones to provide “advanced surveillance and deterrence” to protect maritime infrastructure.
rc/wmr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
