Sweden has released the Bulgarian ship Vezhen, concluding that there was no intentional sabotage in the severing of a telecommunications cable between Sweden and Latvia. Swedish prosecutors stated that the investigation clearly ruled out sabotage, attributing the incident to a combination of weather conditions, equipment issues, and management decisions aboard the vessel. Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist from the National Security Department confirmed that the detained ship was responsible for the damage but emphasized that there was no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing.

The merchant ship, owned by the Bulgarian company Navibulgar and sailing under the Maltese flag, had been held for a week following the incident in the Baltic Sea. The ship was carrying eight Bulgarian officers and nine Myanmar sailors as crew members. Following its release, Navibulgar announced that the vessel would head to Denmark for repairs before continuing its journey to South America, where it is scheduled to deliver cargo in Uruguay and Argentina. Minor crew changes will also take place during the stop in Denmark.

Navibulgar’s Executive Director, Capt. Alexander Kalchev, expressed frustration over how the detention was handled, particularly condemning politicians who suggested Bulgarian sailors might have been involved in sabotage. He specifically called out Bulgarian politicians Nikolay Radulov, Kiril Petkov, and Lena Borislavova, accusing them of fueling speculation and tarnishing the reputation of the sailors. Kalchev insisted that he was confident from the beginning that the crew had not committed any malicious act, and he urged those who had made accusations to publicly apologize.

Kalchev also noted that Navibulgar’s internal investigative unit would conduct its own review once they could fully interview the crew, with the goal of preventing similar incidents in the future. He expressed gratitude to Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport for their support throughout the process.

The Swedish prosecutor's office reiterated that the damage to the optical fiber cable resulted from an anchor dragging along the seabed, likely due to harsh weather conditions. Navibulgar had previously explained that if their ship had indeed damaged the cable, it was because of a “leaked anchor” caused by the adverse weather, rather than an act of sabotage.

The ship was initially detained by Swedish authorities under suspicion of intentional damage. The incident occurred overnight while the vessel was passing through the affected area. For months, NATO countries have been investigating incidents of infrastructure damage, particularly in relation to Russia’s so-called "shadow fleet," which Moscow allegedly uses to circumvent Western economic sanctions. However, Swedish authorities found no link between the Vezhen and any acts of sabotage, officially dismissing the case against the crew.

Sources:

• Reuters
• BNT
• BNR