Another underwater Baltic cable damaged

An optical fiber cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, probably as a result of external influence, Latvia said, causing an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea.

“We have determined that it is most likely external damage and that it is significant,” Latvian Prime Minister Evika told reporters after an extraordinary government meeting.

Latvia is coordinating with NATO and the countries of the Baltic Sea region to clarify the circumstances, she said in a post on X.

Latvia’s Marina earlier on Sunday said she had sent a patrol boat to inspect a boat and that two other ships were also undergoing investigation.

Up to several thousand commercial ships make their way across the Baltic Sea at any given time, and a number of them crossed the broken cable on Sunday, showed data from the marine vessel tracking service.

Such a ship, most of the flag carrier in Malta Veshet, was closely followed by a Swedish coast guard on Sunday evening, marinetraffic records, and both were heading to the Southern Swedish coastline.

It was not immediately clear if Veshen, who passed the optical fiber cable to 0045 GMT on Sunday, was subject to investigation.

A Swedish Coast Guard spokesman declined to comment on the Veson or the position of Coast Guard vessels.

“We are in a phase where we cannot provide any information,” the spokesman said. “Exactly how we are involved we cannot say.”

The Bulgarian Navigation Navigation company Bulgare, which ranked Veshen among its fleet, did not respond immediately when it was called by e -mail from the off office outside reuters.

NATO collaboration

Swedish Navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson earlier told Reuters that he was soon to say what caused cable damage or whether it was intentional or a technical fault.

“NATO ships and planes are working together with national sources from the Baltic Sea to investigate and, if necessary, take action,” the Alliance said in a statement Sunday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson said his country was working closely with NATO and Latvia.

“Sweden will contribute important skills to the continued attempt to investigate the suspected incident,” Kristersson told X.

NATO said last week that it would place frigate, patrol aircraft and maritime drone in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of presenting a security threat.

The military alliance is taking action, called “Sentry Baltic”, after a series of incidents in which power cables, telecom ties and gas pipelines have been damaged in the sequel of Russia’s occupation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Last month, Finnish police seized a tanker holding Russian oil and said they suspected the ship had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 and four telecommunications cables by dragging its anchor across the sea.

The Prime Minister of Finland in a statement said that the latest damage to the cables highlighted the need to increase protection for critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

The cable that broke down on Sunday tied the Latvian city of Ventspils with the island of Sweden’s Gotland and was damaged in the exclusive economic area of ​​Sweden, Marina Latvian said.

Communication providers were able to cross the alternative transmission routes, said Cable Operator, Latvian Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), said in a statement, adding that it was looking to contract a ship to start repairs.

“The exact nature of the damage can only be determined after the cable repair work begins,” LVRTC said.

An operator spokesman said the cable, located at depths of more than 50 meters (164 ft), was damaged on the early Sunday, but refused to give an accurate incident time.

Unlike seafood pipes and power cables, which can last many months to repair after damage, fiber optic cables that have suffered damage to the Baltic Sea have generally returned within weeks.

A spokesman for Swedish authority Post and Telecom said he was aware of the situation, but there was no further comment.

(Reuters – Reporting by Andrius Sytas, Janis Laizans, Johan Ahlander, Stine Jacobsen, Nerijus Adomiatis and Tere Solsovik; Editing by Christina Fincher, Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson)