Officials in Sweden have ordered the detention of a vessel operating in the Baltic Sea that they suspect may have damaged an underwater fiber optic cable.
Swedish prosecutors will investigate the suspected sabotage that damaged the undersea infrastructure connecting the Swedish island of Gotland to Latvia.
“There is information suggesting that at least one data cable between Sweden and Latvia has been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cable is owned by a Latvian entity. … Sweden, Latvia and NATO are closely cooperating on the matter. Sweden will contribute with relevant capabilities to the effort to investigate the suspected incident,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on social media platform X on January 26.
News of the damaged cable comes just days after NATO announced it was launching a patrol to protect valuable cables in the Baltic Sea. According to the organization, the mission was prompted by growing concerns about spying and sabotage connected to Russia.
The latest incident in the Baltic Sea underscores the growing importance of securing deep-sea locations. Major players like Russia, China, and the United States are increasingly bumping heads in the world’s vast oceans. Just last week, The Dallas Express reported that a Russian spy vessel was spotted in UK waters for the second time after an earlier sighting in November 2024.
In another incident in 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard spotted a Russian espionage ship off the coast of Hawaii. The Coast Guard said the vessel had reportedly operated in the area for weeks.
“Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation,” Mats Ljungqvist, senior prosecutor at the National Security Unit, said in a press release about the recent suspected Baltic Sea sabotage, per AP.
Data from Vesselfinder shows the ship departing the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days prior to the seizure. The boat was seen traveling between Gotland and Latvia around the time the cable is thought to have been damaged.
On Sunday, Latvia’s state-run radio and TV center reported that data disruptions were recorded on the cable that links the Latvian town of Ventspils to Gotland, eventually concluding there was a rupture.
“At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences,” said Vineta Sprugaine, the head of corporate communications at Latvia State Radio and Television Centre.