On Sunday morning, an undersea fiber-optic cable belonging to the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) was damaged in the Baltic Sea, the center reported.
Disruptions were recorded on the Ventspils–Gotland section of the cable, which connects Latvia and Sweden. Following an initial investigation, LVRTC concluded that the “significant damage” was caused by external factors.
The company noted that the cable lies at a depth of more than 50 meters, and the exact nature of the damage will only be determined once repair work begins. Repairs are set to start as soon as an agreement is reached on deploying a repair vessel. LVRTC added that it has notified the relevant authorities about the incident.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa has convened a meeting with the responsible ministries and agencies in response to the damage. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he remains in “close contact” with his Latvian counterpart, adding that Sweden is cooperating with Latvia and NATO.
On Monday, Swedish prosecutors announced they had detained a ship suspected of involvement in damaging the undersea cable.
The ship’s name and country of registration have not been disclosed. Authorities have also not revealed the location or status of the crew. No further details about the preliminary investigation have been provided by the prosecutor’s office.
This incident follows a series of recent disruptions to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. In mid-November, two undersea telecommunications cables — one linking Finland to Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania — were damaged. Authorities suspected the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 was involved.
On December 25, another cable between Estonia and Finland failed. The next day, Finnish border authorities detained the oil tanker Eagle S, suspecting it had intentionally dragged its anchor along the seabed to damage the cable. According to the Financial Times, the Cook Islands-flagged tanker was transporting oil from Russia to Egypt.
On January 19, The Washington Post, citing senior officials from three countries, reported that European and U.S. intelligence agencies increasingly believe the cable damage in the Baltic Sea was accidental rather than the result of deliberate sabotage. Officials stated that investigations found no evidence suggesting the ships dragging anchors along the seabed did so intentionally or under instructions from Russia.
