Critical Infrastructure Security
Undersea Cable Damage in Baltic Sparks Concerns of Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Activity

Swedish authorities seized a vessel in the Baltic Sea as part of a criminal probe into alleged sabotage of an undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia, following a string of high-profile cable disruptions across the region.
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Senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said Sunday that the Swedish Security Service is leading the probe, backed by the military, police and coast guard. Local reports say a Malta-flagged vessel, the Vezhen, was seized near Karlskrona. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told reporters Sunday a section of the undersea fiber optic network most likely suffered “significant” external damage, later adding on X that an examination of the damage site would be conducted beginning as early as Monday evening.
Latvian state media reported data transmission disruptions on Sunday, but key details remain unclear – including whether the alleged sabotage ties to recent cable breaks linked to Russia’s sanctions-busting shadow fleet (see: Finland Boards Tanker Suspected of Rupturing Undersea Cables). The incident follows a December case where Finnish authorities boarded a tanker suspected of damaging Baltic Sea cables. Another Chinese-flagged tanker in November is suspected of severing cables connecting Finland with Germany and with Lithuania.
Data from Vesselfinder indicated the 32,000 ton vessel departed from a Russian port before navigating between Gotland and Latvia at the time of the suspected sabotage, according to the Associated Press. A Bulgarian shipping company believed to own the vessel in question has denied the cable was intentionally damaged, telling the wire service the ship was loaded with fertilizer and sailing to South America in extremely bad weather when the crew discovered an anchor had been dragging along the seabed.
“I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released,” Alexander Kalchev, CEO of the Bulgarian shipping company Navibulgar, said in a statement.
The European Commission has previously accused Russia of operating a “shadow fleet” of aging, uninsured vessels transporting embargoed goods to fund the Kremlin’s war effort. In November, U.S. military intelligence also warned defense firms of Russian sabotage tactics following a spate of Kremlin-linked activity in Europe, including surveillance, network breaches and insider threats.