Norwegian authorities have released a ship with a Russian crew after finding no evidence of the recent damage to an underwater glass-fiber cable between Latvia and Sweden.
The Silver Dania, which operates between St. Petersburg and the northern Russian port of Murmansk, was seized on Thursday evening at the request of Latvian authorities and after a local court’s decision. The Norwegian police stated that the ship, escorted by a Norwegian police vessel in the northern port of Tromsø, could have damaged a critical glass-fiber link of the state-owned Latvian public broadcaster, connecting the Baltic state to the Swedish island of Gotland. They added that the prosecution authorities “carried out an operation on the ship to search, interrogate and secure evidence”.
However, the police later announced that the Silver Dania can leave Tromsø on Friday evening. They stated that the investigations would continue, but “no findings have linked the ship to the crime” and that the crew had been cooperative.
The case of the alleged cable sabotage is the latest in a series of incidents in which critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea has been damaged, with speculations widely spread that Russia might be involved. Despite the lack of evidence, Western politicians immediately pointed to Russia as the suspect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov dismissed the allegations of Russian involvement, saying, “It is completely absurd to hold Russia responsible for everything without grounds”.
The Washington Post reported at the beginning of the month, citing Western intelligence sources and investigators, that the damage to the Baltic Sea’s infrastructure was likely due to accidents with poorly maintained ships and inexperienced crews, rather than intentional sabotage acts.
The NATO has launched a mission called “Baltic Sentry” to improve the monitoring and protection of critical underwater infrastructure in the region. Eight countries, including Germany, are participating in the mission.