A submarine cable between Latvia and Gotland, a large Swedish island and province in the Baltic Sea, has suffered another damage, reported the Latvian media company Latvijas Sabiedriskie Mediji (LSM) citing the Swedish broadcaster SVT/NYHETER. According to the initial report of the affected cable operator, there is reason to believe that the damage was caused by external influences. Swedish authorities have seized a ship as part of the investigation into “suspicion of gross sabotage”.
The damage was reported on Sunday, prompting the Swedish Prosecution Authority to launch an investigation into “serious sabotage”after confirming that a submarine data cable between Sweden and Latvia had been severely damaged. The initial investigation was led by the Swedish Security Agency.
“At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable has been severely damaged and the damage was caused from the outside”said the statement of the state-owned electronic communication provider LVRTC. The cable is used by the Latvian state-owned broadcasting and television center.
According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, the Swedish Coast Guard seized a ship called “Vezhen”, which was flying the Maltese flag and was previously en route from Russia to Denmark, according to data from the “Marine Traffic”website that tracks daily shipping data.
The data from “Marine Traffic”shows that the “Vezhen”was sailing over the cable at around 1 a.m. on Sunday, as reported by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Mats Ljungqvist, the chief prosecutor of the Swedish National Security Unit, stated that “multiple authorities, including the national police, the Coast Guard and the military, are involved in the investigation”.
Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson informed via X-Posting that “there are indications that at least one data cable between Sweden and Latvia in the Baltic Sea has been damaged”. He also confirmed that conversations with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina had been held over the situation.
The Latvian Navy, according to Swedish media, has identified two more ships in the area of the damaged underwater infrastructure. The Latvian Prime Minister tweeted shortly before midnight that the day had been spent in intense coordination with allies to find the cause of the damage to the LVRTC cable in the Baltic Sea.
Mid-month, the NATO launched an operation called “Baltic Sentry”in the Baltic Sea region, which includes the deployment of frigates and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The eight participating NATO countries are Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The command and coordination center of the operation is located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
NATO Secretary-General Rutte announced the “deployment of new technologies”, including a small fleet of marine drones. According to the NATO website, the alliance will work with its partners to integrate national surveillance systems to improve the ability to protect and respond to critical underwater infrastructure in the event of a need.
The goal is to ensure more protection in the Baltic Sea through “enhanced surveillance”and “deterrence”, which, according to the transatlantic alliance, is solely for the security of underwater cables and pipelines.
In December last year, the Estlink-2 power cable between Estonia and Finland was damaged, with further Finnish lines reported to be out of service a few days later (RT DE reported).
In the joint statement of the NATO participants in the Baltic Sea region, it is stated that the deployment of the so-called “shadow fleet”by Russia poses a special threat to the maritime and ecological security of the Baltic Sea and the world.
The alliance is determined to “deter, detect and repel”any sabotage attempts. Any suspected attack on our infrastructure will be met with a robust and determined response.