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An underwater cable of data between Sweden and Latvia was damaged early on Sunday, in at least the fourth episode of possible sabotage in the Baltic Sea in recent months that has caused NATO concern over the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said damage to the cable between the Latvian coastal city of Ventspils and Fårösund on the Swedish island of Gotland was important and thus was probably caused by an external force.
A criminal investigation has begun. Previous incidents have been connected to Russian and Chinese ships.
The Latvian authorities sent a patrol boat to inspect a boat that was near the fiber optic cable belonging to the Baltic Radio State and television center when it was damaged, and was also monitoring two other ships nearby.
Marina Latvian said the ship was Michalis San, a Maltez flag carrier on the road to Russia from Algeria, though she found no sign of suspicious activity on board, Latvian television reported.
Ulf Kristersson, the Prime Minister of Sweden, said that “at least one” data cable was damaged and that he had been in contact with Siliņa and was working closely with NATO.
European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen expressed “its full solidarity” with the Baltic countries, adding that “resistance and safety of our critical infrastructure is a major advantage” for the EU.
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NATO last week announced that it will set up drones, submarines, ships and aircraft in the Baltic Sea to help detect and prevent sabotage efforts against critical infrastructure in a mission known as Baltic Sentry after three previous groups were damaged months were damaged months last.
The Finnish authorities took control of last month of a ship belonging to the Russian secret fleeting of oil tanks – outdated ships, poorly maintained registered in remote jurisdictions like the Kukes islands and used to bypass international sanctions – after starting a Criminal investigation for aggravated sabotage on the incident.
NATO allies have welcomed Finland’s actions in capturing the ship as exemplary, following two previous sabotage incidents where the suspected ships left the Baltic Sea.
The first happened at the end of 2023 when a Chinese ship with containers, Newnew Polar Bear, cut a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia with its anchor, but did not stop.
The second included a majority Chinese carrier, Yi Peng 3, which in November passed over two data cables in the Baltic Sea at the time they were cut off.
He stopped for a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden and Chinese investigators riding it. But the Swedish government criticized Beijing for not allowing the Swedish main investigator to board or inspect the ship.
The latest incident comes as the three Baltic states are preparing to disconnect their electricity systems from the former Soviet network in early February and integrate into the continental European network, with some afraid of further outage possible before this.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have joined the EU and NATO since regaining their independence after the forced annexation by the Soviet Union and see their transition to the European electricity system such as their final integration in the West.
Kę Stutis Budrys, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, said the rules of navigation in the Baltic Sea should be reviewed “especially when it comes to using anchors” and added that there were now so many incidents that it was unlikely that all were accidents.
Repair of data cables has tend to take much less time than that of gas or electricity connections, and the state -owned Radio and Television Center said it had found alternative ways to its communications.
Mapping from Aditi bhandari
