(Updated with declarations of the Swedish navy, NATO, the Finnish Prime Minister and the cable operator)
PAR Andrius Sytas
An optical fiber-fiber cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday in the Baltic Sea, probably due to external intervention, said Latvian authorities.
The Latvian navy sent a patroller inspecting a boat likely to be involved in the incident, they added.
Two other boats navigating in the sector are also monitored, said the Latvian navy.
“We have determined that there are most likely external damage and that they are important,” said Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, to journalists after having gathered an extraordinary council of ministers.
Latvia is coordinated with NATO and other Baltic countries to clarify the circumstances of this incident, she also said in a message on the X network.
The Swedish navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson, told Reuters that he was premature to advance an explanation for these damage and to say if they were the fruit of a deliberate action.
“We do not know, it’s too early in the investigation. We don’t even know if it is an accident or a cable defect,” he said, adding that NATO had the primary responsibility of the investigation.
“NATO boats and aircraft are working with national Baltic countries to investigate and, if necessary, take action,” the military alliance said in a statement.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf KrisSson said his country collaborated closely with Latvia and NATO.
“Sweden will provide important capacities for the current effort to investigate this incident,” wrote Ulf KrisSson on X.
“Sentinel of the Baltic”
-NATO announced last week that it was going to deploy frigates, a patroller plane and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to contribute to the protection of critical infrastructure. She said she reserved the right to intervene against any ship considered a potential threat.
This operation, called “Sentinel de la Baltic”, was launched following a series of incidents that have damaged electric or telecommunications cables and gas pipelines since the start of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, which led Western countries to impose sanctions on Russia.
The Finnish authorities seized last month a cargo cargo carrying Russian oil suspected of having damaged the electric cable islink 2 between Finland and Estonia as well as four telecommunications cables, leaving its anchor to drag on the seabed.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Oropo said in a statement that the new incident on Sunday illustrated the need to strengthen the protection of critical submarine infrastructure in the Baltic.
The damaged cable Sunday morning connects the city of Ventspils, in Latvia, to the Swedish island of Gotland. It was affected in the exclusive economic area of Sweden, said the Latvian navy.
Telecommunication means suppliers were able to switch on alternative transmission networks, said the cable operator, the public radio and Latvian television center (LVRTC), adding that it tried to mandate a boat to launch repairs.
“The exact nature of the damage can only be determined when the cable repair work begins,” LVRTC said in a press release.
A spokesperson for the operator said that the cable was more than 50 meters deep and that it had been damaged in the morning, without providing hourly precision.
The damaged optical fiber cables in the Baltic Sea have generally been repaired in just a few weeks, while several months may be necessary for gas pipelines and electric cables.
The Swedish telecommunications authority said it was informed of the situation but not having any comments to make.
(Andrius Sytas, Janis Laizans, Johan Ahlander, Stine Jacobsen a Terje Solsvik, Version Française Bertrand Boucey)
