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An undersea data cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged early Sunday, in at least the fourth episode of potential sabotage in the Baltic Sea in recent months that has raised concerns within NATO that to the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said the damage to the cable connecting the Latvian coastal town of Ventspils to Fårösund on the Swedish island of Gotland was significant. significant and was therefore probably caused by an external force.
A criminal investigation has been opened. Previous incidents have been linked to Russian and Chinese ships.
Latvian authorities sent a patrol boat to inspect a ship that was near the fiber optic cable belonging to the Baltic country’s national radio and television center when it was damaged, and were also monitoring two other ships at proximity.
The Latvian navy said it was the Michalis San, a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier en route to Russia from Algeria, although it found no signs of suspicious activity on board, the Latvian Navy reported. Latvian television.
Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish Prime Minister, said that “at least one” data cable had been damaged and that he had been in contact with Siliņa and was cooperating closely with NATO.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed “full solidarity” with the Baltics, adding that “the resilience and security of our critical infrastructure is a top priority” for the EU.
NATO announced this last week would deploy dronessubmarines, ships and aircraft in the Baltic Sea to help detect and prevent sabotage attempts against critical infrastructure in a mission known as Baltic Sentry after three previous sets of cables been damaged in recent months.
Finnish authorities last month took control of a ship belonging to Russia’s ghost fleet of tankers – aging, poorly maintained vessels registered in remote jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands and used to circumvent international sanctions – as they opened a criminal investigation into aggravated sabotage following the incident.
NATO allies hailed Finland’s actions in seizing the ship as exemplary, following two previous potential sabotage incidents in which the suspect vessels left the Baltic Sea.
The first occurred at the end of 2023 when a Chinese container ship, the Newnew polar bearcut a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia with its anchor but was not arrested.
The second involved a Chinese bulk carrierthe Yi Peng 3, which passed two data cables into the Baltic Sea in November when they were cut.
It stopped for a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden, and Chinese investigators boarded it. But the Swedish government critical Beijing for not allowing the lead Swedish investigator to board or inspect the ship.
The latest incident comes as the three Baltic states prepare to disconnect their electricity systems from the former Soviet grid in early February and integrate with the continental European grid, with some fearing possible further disruption before then.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have joined the EU and NATO since regaining their independence after their forced annexation by the Soviet Union, and view their move to the European electricity system as their final integration into the ‘west.
Kęstutis Budrys, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said rules for navigation in the Baltic Sea needed to be reviewed “particularly with regard to the use of anchors” and added that there were now so many incidents that there was little chance that they would all be accidents.
Repairing data cables tends to take much less time than repairing gas or electricity connections, and Latvian state radio and television said it had found alternative routes for its communications.
Mapping by Aditi Bhandari
