Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country's security police said on Monday.
"We can confirm that persons from Swedish authorities have been on board the vessel to carry out investigative measures," Swedish Security Services spokesperson Johan Wikstrom said.
The undersea cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on Sunday in Sweden's exclusive economic zone, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said. This prompted NATO to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggered a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities.
MarineTraffic data showed that a coastguard vessel escorted the bulk carrier Vezhen to Swedish waters on Sunday where it later anchored.
The Vezhen, which Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare listed among its fleet, passed the fiber optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday. The head of the Bulgarian company, Captain Aleksandar Kalchev, said the Vezhen might have struck the Baltic undersea cable that was damaged on Sunday. He attributed the incident to one of the ship's anchors dropping to the seabed in high winds and denied any malicious intent.
The Latvian navy said on Sunday that three ships were subject to investigation. NATO said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft, and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat.
Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.