Norway seizes ship suspected of sabotage, says crew are Russian nationals

Police in Norway have seized a ship suspected of sabotaging a communications cable running between Sweden and Latvia. The ship is the second of three that Latvian authorities consider suspects in the incident, and the third ship to be detained in recent weeks over concerns of intentional damage to subsea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

In a statement on Friday, the Troms Police District said the ship, the Silver Dania, is Norwegian-registered and owned but that the crew on board are Russian. The vessel was sailing from St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to the city of Murmansk on Russia’s north coast through Norway’s exclusive economic zone when it was detained by a coast guard vessel on Thursday night.

Troms police said the ship was brought into the port of Tromsø on Friday morning “based on a legal request from Latvian authorities” as well as a district court ruling. The crew and the shipping company are cooperating, they added.

“There is suspicion that the ship has been involved in serious damage to a fibre cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden. The police are conducting an operation on the ship to search, conduct interviews, and secure evidence,” explained the statement.

Latvian authorities have previously said they are investigating three ships over an incident last Sunday in which a cable owned by the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) running between the Latvian city of Ventspils and the Swedish island of Gotland was cut.

A cargo ship called the Vezhen has already been detained by Sweden as part of the investigation. Swedish authorities confirmed that an elite armed police unit used a helicopter to board a ship and secure the vessel and its crew for the investigation, which is being led by Sweden’s Security Service (SÄPO).

Tormod Fossmark, who runs Silver Sea, the Norwegian shipping company that owns the vessel, told coastal newspaper Fiskeribladet that he had been in contact with the government, and that he understood there was a desire to investigate all of the vessels that had passed through the area of the cable break.

Fossmark said Silver Sea confirmed on Sunday that the Silver Dania would be attending a Norwegian port and described the seizure on Thursday as “a bit surprising” given the earlier detention of the Vezhen, which he said showed tell-tale signs of damage to one of its anchors.

The incident comes amid heightened concern regarding disruptions to subsea infrastructure in the wake of another incident in the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day, when a ship dragged its anchor for more than 60 miles, severing a number of cables.

Authorities in Finland have seized that ship, the Eagle S, after it was boarded by armed officers via helicopter, and said this week they suspect the damage was done intentionally. Those comments followed reports citing anonymous intelligence officials that the cable breakages were assessed to be accidents rather than acts of sabotage.

In the wake of that incident, NATO allies bordering the Baltic Sea, including Sweden, Norway and Latvia, issued a statement warning they reserved the right to take action against Russian ships that threaten submarine infrastructure. The alliance also announced Baltic Sentry, described as “new military activity” to “enhance NATO's military presence in the Baltic Sea.”