Swedish authorities have detained the Bulgarian ship "Vezhen," which is suspected of damaging an optical cable on the Baltic Sea floor. The ship, with a crew of eight Bulgarian officers and nine Myanmar sailors, was caught in a storm while sailing between Gotland and Latvia. Captain Alexander Kalchev, Executive Director of the Navigation Maritime Bulgare Company (Navibulgar), clarified that the incident was not sabotage but likely a result of the adverse weather conditions.

The ship was sailing in high winds of over 25 meters per second on January 25 when the crew noticed damage the following morning. Captain Kalchev explained that during the night, the ship encountered rough seas, causing the anchor to drag along the seafloor. In the daylight hours, when the weather had improved, the crew found the anchor had shifted, possibly causing the cable to be cut, though Kalchev emphasized that he does not believe sabotage or malicious intent was involved.

Swedish authorities approached the ship, requesting it to move into their territorial waters for inspection. Armed personnel boarded the vessel, though Kalchev noted that their behavior was somewhat aggressive. He stressed that the inspection would determine whether the "Vezhen" was responsible for the damage, though he remains confident that there was no deliberate action taken by the crew.

The ship, which is on its way to South America carrying fertilizer, was launched in 2022 and weighs 32,000 tons. Its captain, Anton Atanasov, is 41 years old. Kalchev also explained the concept of the anchor "leaking," meaning the stoppers that keep it in place during sailing can be damaged by rough waves, as they were during this storm. While he acknowledged the possibility of crew negligence, he expressed doubt that it was the cause of the incident.

According to tracking data from "MarineTraffic," the "Vezhen" was sailing under a Maltese flag and had left the Russian port of Ust-Luga just two days prior. The ship was in the vicinity of the damage, but Kalchev pointed out that at least one other vessel was in the area at the time. Swedish authorities have refrained from identifying the responsible party, though they are cooperating with Latvia and NATO in their investigation. The incident comes shortly after NATO launched a mission in the Baltic Sea in response to repeated damage to underwater cables, with some speculating that Russia's "shadow fleet" may be involved.

Source: BNT