[Norwegian Police Seize Ship on Suspicion of Damaging Fiber Cable in Baltic Sea
Norwegian police have seized a Russian-crewed ship on suspicion of causing “serious damage” to a fiber cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden. The Silver Dania ship was located by Troms Police in northern Norway on Thursday evening and was brought into the port of Tromso on Friday morning.
According to police, there is suspicion that the ship has been involved in serious damage to the fiber cable, and an operation is underway to search, conduct interviews, and secure evidence. The ship is Norwegian-registered and Norwegian-owned, but the crew on board is Russian. It was sailing between St. Petersburg and Murmansk in Russia at the time of the alleged incident.
The owners of the Silver Dania, the Silver Sea shipping group, have denied any involvement in damaging the cable. “The investigation has been going on today and we have had good cooperation with the authorities,” said CEO Tormod Fossmark. “Authorities have not yet found any links connecting the ship with the damaged cable, and the crew has been allowed to prepare the Silver Dania to set sail Friday night.”
This incident marks the second ship to be seized on suspicion of carrying out sabotage in the last week, after a ship was boarded by the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday following suspected damage to a communications cable. Latvia has said that the damage was likely caused by external forces.
The incident is the latest in a string of incidents since late 2022, with damage being caused to Europe’s infrastructure running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Such incidents have become more frequent over the past couple of years, raising suspicions that they are the result of sabotage. Russia has denied allegations of involvement in underwater cable sabotage.
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