Breaking - Recent Baltic Sea Cable Break Not Sabotage

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The Swedish Prosecutor’s Office says the recent undersea cable break between Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland was NOT sabotage.

Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist says the damage occurred due to bad weather and deficient seamanship.

“The investigation now clearly shows that it is not a case of sabotage. It has been determined that a combination of weather conditions as well as deficiencies in equipment and seamanship contributed to the cable break. The preliminary investigation has been systematic and thorough in order to clarify the incident. We can say with certainty that it is not a case of sabotage. At the same time, we have been able to establish that it is the vessel that has been seized that has caused the cable break.”

Ljungqvist says Swedish authorities have now revoked the decision to seize the bulk carrier the ‘Vezhen,’ which as of Monday afternoon had resumed its journey out of the Baltic Sea. It had been detained off the coast of Karlskrona, Sweden, for the last week.

However, the ship may not be entirely out of the hot water. The prosecutor’s office continues to investigate if the ship broke any laws in breaking the undersea cable.

The cable break occurred on January 26, and the Vezhen was detained within hours. Over the weekend another vessel was also briefly detained by Norwegian authorities at the request of Latvian prosecutors, but it was cleared of any wrongdoing and released.