Sweden’s coastguard has intercepted a Bulgarian ship.
According to Reuters, following the damage to the submarine fiber-optic cable between Latvia and Sweden, Sweden’s Chief Prosecutor Mats Ljoenqvist announced the launch of an investigation into “possible sabotage” in the incident.
Following the incident, NATO dispatched patrol ships to the area. The Swedish security service also seized a ship during the investigation.
Ljoenqvist said in a statement: “We are taking concrete measures, but due to the initial investigation that is currently underway, I cannot announce the details of these investigations.”
NATO has been coordinating military ships and aircraft under its recent mission, called “Baltic Patrol.” The action follows a series of incidents in which power cables, telecommunications, and gas pipelines were damaged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Latvian Prime Minister Ovika Silena said her government was coordinating with NATO and other Baltic Sea countries to clarify the circumstances surrounding the latest incident.
“We have concluded that the damage is most likely external and significant,” he said.
Earlier, the Latvian Navy announced that it had dispatched a patrol boat to inspect several ships. More than a thousand commercial vessels pass through the Baltic Sea at any given time, and according to data from the ship tracking service Marine Traffic, several ships passed over the damaged cables.