Norwegian authorities have detained the Russian crew of a Norwegian-owned vessel in connection with the severing of an undersea fiber optic cable between Sweden and Latvia. The detention was carried out at the request of Latvian authorities. However, Swedish prosecutors maintain that the Bulgarian cargo ship Vezhen is the main suspect in causing the damage.

The Bulgarian ship Vezhen, sailing under a Maltese flag, was detained by Swedish authorities five days ago as part of the ongoing investigation. Mats Ljungqvist, the Swedish prosecutor leading the case, told Reuters that investigators now have a clearer understanding of the incident and believe the Vezhen was responsible for the rupture. "Our opinion is that it was the ship that we detained that caused the rupture [...] We examined the vessel that was confiscated in Norway, but for various reasons we rejected it," Ljungqvist stated without providing further details.

The Bulgarian government has denied any involvement in acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea. During a parliamentary hearing, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, Transport Minister Grozdan Karadzhov, and State Agency for National Security (SANS) Chairman Plamen Tonchev emphasized that Bulgaria is not under suspicion as a country. Meanwhile, the owners of the Vezhen—the Bulgarian Navibulgar company, owned by Kiril and Georgi Domuschiev—dismissed the possibility of intentional wrongdoing. They acknowledged, however, that the ship’s anchor may have slipped accidentally and caused the damage.

Regarding the Norwegian vessel, authorities believe someone on board the Silver Denmark may have played a role in the cable incident. The ship, which was sailing from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, is owned by the SilverSea Shipping Group, which has denied any involvement. "The suspicion is that someone on the Silver Dania has something to do with the cable incident," police lawyer Ronny Jorgensen told a news conference without elaborating.

Sweden and Latvia launched an investigation into the severing of the cable on Sunday, amid heightened security concerns in the Baltic Sea. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the region has witnessed multiple disruptions to power cables, gas pipelines, and telecommunications links. In response, NATO has increased its presence in the area, deploying frigates, aircraft, and naval drones.