STOCKHOLM — On Monday, Swedish prosecutors announced the decision to release a ship owned by a Bulgarian shipping firm, concluding that the initial suspicions of sabotage related to damage on an undersea fiber-optic cable between Sweden and Latvia were unfounded.
The undersea cable that connects the Latvian port city of Ventspils with Sweden’s Gotland Island was reported damaged on January 26, leading to the vessel’s confiscation by Swedish authorities later that same day. This incident was among several recent occurrences of undersea cable breaks, which have stoked concerns regarding potential Russian interference and spying in the area.
The prosecutors stated that their investigation into the Vezhen ship showed no indication of intentional sabotage. According to senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, while the ship was indeed responsible for the cable’s break, extensive crime-scene analyses, forensic examination of confiscated materials, and witness testimonies assured officials that there was no criminal intent involved.
“The investigation is ongoing to determine if other factors may have led to the damage of the cable,” the prosecutors noted.
The Bulgarian shipping company, Navibulgar, has firmly denied allegations claiming its vessel was involved in any deliberate act to harm the cable. In previous reports, there have been multiple instances of damaged cables on the Baltic Sea floor, speculated to be connected to Russian maritime operations involving a fleet of aging tankers that evade sanctions while maintaining oil exports.
Navibulgar referred to testimonies from its crew, stating that the ship was navigating through extremely harsh weather conditions and that its anchor on the left side was reportedly dragging along the seabed.
In a related incident, Norwegian authorities had inspected the Silver Dana, a Norwegian-owned and Russian-crewed vessel, last Friday, initially suspecting it might be connected to the cable’s damage. However, they later confirmed that there was no evidence linking the ship to the incident, and it was subsequently released.
