INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Jorgensen, the police prosecutor, had said a crew member was suspected of involvement in the cable damage, which he described as "aggravated
vandalism."The Silver Dania is owned by Norwegian shipping company Silver Sea, whose chief Tormod Fossmark told AFP that "We sailed near
but we did not cast anchor."We did nothing wrong," he added
"Norwegian authorities have brought us into port to clear us of any involvement."The Russian Embassy in Oslo had told AFP by email that none
of the sailors had been placed under arrest nor had they contacted the embassy for assistance.On Sunday, the Swedish coastguard seized a
Bulgarian ship, the Malta-flagged "Vezhen," off Sweden's southeastern coast in connection with the same cable incident.Swedish prosecutors
have opened an investigation into "aggravated sabotage," and images of the vessel published by Swedish media appeared to show that one of
its anchors had a broken arm.Alexander Kalchev, CEO of Navibulgar, the Bulgarian maritime shipping company that operates the Vezhen, denied
any involvement."I am convinced that we cannot say..
that this was a malicious act," he said.But prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Swedish news agency TT on Friday that he was confident the
Vezhen was involved."I think I can say, on very solid grounds, that it is this ship that has damaged the cable," he said."Our work is
The ship is still seized and there are various investigative measures being taken, including technical examinations," he said.The incident
is the latest in a series affecting cables in the Baltic Sea amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West since Moscow's invasion of
Ukraine.Finland and Sweden, which both border the Baltic Sea, have dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO as concern about
the region's security mounts.Russia had warned both countries of repercussions if they joined the alliance.In September 2022, a series of
underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe
The cause is yet to be determined.In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged
by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.In November 2024, two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed, and on Dec
25, the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged.In response, NATO launched a Baltic Sea
patrol mission in mid-January to secure critical underwater infrastructure.Frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, submarines and drones are
involved in the Baltic Sentry patrols.
