The Bulgarian ship "Vezhen," which had been suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden on January 26, has been cleared by Swedish authorities. The investigation revealed no evidence of sabotage, and the crew was found to have acted without malicious intent. Capt. Alexander Kalchev, the executive director of the Bulgarian shipping company "Navibulgar", expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the prosecutor’s investigation, which confirmed the company's initial assessment that the incident was not caused by any deliberate actions.

Kalchev also addressed the quick assistance provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport. However, he criticized certain politicians, including Kiril Petkov and Lena Borislavova, for making unfounded accusations against the sailors. He demanded public apologies from them for their comments that suggested the possibility of the Bulgarian crew being responsible for such an act.

The "Vezhen" is now continuing its journey to Argentina and Uruguay after making plans to stop in Denmark for repairs. The damaged anchor and equipment are set to be fixed there, and the ship's captain and senior assistant captain will be replaced as their contracts expire. Kalchev clarified that while the cause of the cable rupture remains unclear, the assumption that the anchor fell due to external factors has been confirmed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev also welcomed the resolution of the situation, calling it the end of a "malicious rumor." He emphasized that no charges were filed against the Bulgarian crew, and there was no evidence of malicious intent. The ship was cleared to resume its journey after the Swedish authorities dropped all charges. Georgiev expressed his gratitude to the Swedish authorities, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other involved parties for their cooperation.

The incident was linked to weather conditions rather than any intentional action by the crew. According to Georgiev, Bulgaria remains committed to working with its allies to address potential hybrid threats but reiterated that in this case, no such threat was involved. The ship, which flies the Maltese flag, was allowed to depart from Sweden after the positive conclusion of the investigation.

Source: BNR