Sweden Seizes Ship Suspected of Sabotaging Fiber Optic Cable

The Swedish flag flying in front of water
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Updated Published

The Swedish Prosecution Authority has detained a ship suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland. The incident, which occurred yesterday, is part of a troubling series of undersea sabotage attacks affecting the Baltic region.

The vessel under investigation is the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen, a 32,200 dwt ship owned by Bulgarian company Navibulgar. The ship was en route from Russia at the time of the suspected damage.

In recent months, the Baltic has seen an alarming rise in attacks on critical undersea infrastructure, including gas pipelines, power cables, and fiber optic cables. Many of these incidents are believed to have been caused by merchant ships dragging their anchors. In response, NATO has launched Baltic Sentry, a naval operation aimed at protecting vital undersea infrastructure in the region.

Earlier this month, the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden issued a joint statement addressing the growing threat. "Combatting breakage of undersea cables and pipelines represents a global problem," they stated.

The statement also highlighted concerns about the so-called "shadow fleet," an unofficial network of vessels believed to be connected to Russia. "Russia’s use of the so-called shadow fleet poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally. This reprehensible practice also threatens the integrity of undersea infrastructure, increases risks connected to sea-dumped chemical munitions, and significantly supports funding of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," the statement read.

The incident underscores the growing urgency of protecting critical maritime infrastructure in the Baltic and beyond.