On Monday, the Swedish coast guard tracked and intercepted a Bulgarian ship after a fibre-optic cable connecting Sweden and Latvia was destroyed, according to its owner. Latvia despatched a warship on Sunday to inspect the damage, while Swedish officials opened a “aggravated sabotage” investigation. Nations around the Baltic Sea have rushed to enhance their defenses in response to reported underwater cable damage in recent months, with some suspecting Russia.

On Sunday, the Bulgarian vessel “was chased by the Swedish coast guard with instructions for the ship to go into their territorial waters, and it is now on anchor where an investigation… is ongoing,” Alexander Kalchev, CEO of Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar), owner of the Vezhen, told AFP. He denied being involved in any sabotage. “I am convinced that we cannot say … that this was a malicious act,” he told reporters. According to Kalchev, the Malta-flagged tanker carrying fertilizer from Ust-Luga in Russia and bound for South America was traveling in “extremely bad weather” on Saturday, based on information provided by the crew.

An investigation on Sunday revealed that “one of the ship’s anchors was damaged and the anchor had dropped into the sea, which means that it was possible that it had dragged along the sea floor,” he said, adding that the anchor was later retrieved. ‘Full solidarity’ Navibulgar, Bulgaria’s largest shipping firm, stated that it has engaged a Swedish representative and hired a lawyer “to defend the interests of the crew and the company”. The ship, built in 2022, has a crew of eight Bulgarians and nine Myanmar natives.

“Staff from the Swedish authorities have been on board the ship since yesterday evening to carry out investigative measures,” an intelligence officer said. The cable was damaged in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 metres (55 yards), according to officials. The cable is owned by Latvia’s state radio and television center (LVRTC), which stated that there were “disruptions in data transmission services”. The corporation stated that alternatives had been developed and that end consumers would be mostly unaffected, however “there may be delays in data transmission speeds”.

The cable was damaged in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 metres (55 yards), according to officials. The cable is owned by Latvia’s state radio and television center (LVRTC), which stated that there were “disruptions in data transmission services”.

The corporation stated that alternatives had been developed and that end consumers would be mostly unaffected, however “there may be delays in data transmission speeds”. Latvia’s navy announced on Sunday that the Michalis San, along with two other ships, had been recognized as a “suspect vessel” near the scene of the event. Prime Minister Evika Silina stated that Riga had alerted the Swedish authorities and that the two countries were cooperating on the matter.