For the second time in a week: a submarine communication cable is cut in the Baltic Sea
5 January 16:12
Latvian authorities have reported damage to a communications cable in the Baltic Sea, and the country’s police have launched an investigation.
“An optical cable belonging to a private company was damaged in the Baltic Sea, near Liepaja. Latvian communication users were not affected by the incident,” Prime Minister Ewika Silina wrote in X on Sunday, adding that the responsible agencies are investigating all the circumstances of the incident, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Reuters cites the Latvian State Police as saying that the cable was damaged on January 2, three days after Finnish authorities detained a Russian-bound ship suspected of involvement in an attack on another cable in the Baltic. On Sunday, Latvian investigators boarded the vessel in Liepaja, which may be responsible for the damage to communications. “Neither the vessel nor its crew have been detained, they are cooperating with the police, and active work is underway to clarify the circumstances of the incident,” the police said in a statement.
According to the report of the Latvian Armed Forces Coast Guard, the vessel that was inspected was initially moving over an inactive cable, but then changed course towards the active cable, which is now damaged, Delfi writes. During the investigation, the police inspected the vessel and its anchor, checked technical equipment and ship logs, and questioned several people. The investigation is ongoing.
The cable itself runs between the coastal cities of Sventoji in Lithuania and Liepaja in Latvia, about 65 km apart, the National Crisis Management Center of Lithuania explained.
on January 1, the Finnish police announced the arrest of two crew members of the Fitburg ship, which is suspected of damaging the cable between Helsinki and Tallinn. Two more sailors were banned from leaving the country. According to Yle, the 14 crew members were citizens of Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
