Baltic sea data cable in the last case of potential sabotage damaged

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An underwater data cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged in the early Sunday in at least the fourth episode of potential sabotage in the Baltic Sea in the past few months, which in NATO concerned concern about the susceptibility of critical infrastructure.

The Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said that the cable was damaged between the Latvian coastal city of Ventpils and Fårösund on the Swedish island of Gotland significant And so it was probably caused by an external force.

A criminal investigation has started. Earlier incidents were associated with Russian and Chinese ships.

The Latvian authorities sent a patrol boat to inspect a ship near the fiber optic cable of the state radio and television center of the Baltic Country when it was damaged, and also monitored two other ships nearby.

The Latvian Navy said that the ship was the Michalis San, a Maltese Bulk Bulk director on the way to Russia from Algeria, although it did not find any signs of suspicious activities on board, the Latvian Television reported.

Ulf Kristson, Sweden’s Prime Minister, said that “at least one” data cable had been damaged and that he was in contact with Siliņa and worked closely with NATO.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her “full solidarity” with Baltic countries and added that “resilience and security of our critical infrastructure has top priority for the EU”.

NATO announced it last week would use dronesU -boats, ships and planes in the Baltic Sea to identify and prevent sabotage attempts against a critical infrastructure in a mission after three previous cable rates have been damaged in the past few months.

Finnish authorities last month Contributed control of a ship Justified the Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers -aging, poorly maintained ships that were registered in remote jurisdiction such as the Cook Islands and used to circumvent international sanctions -when they began a criminal investigation into tightened sabotage about the incident.

The NATO allies celebrated Finland’s actions as exemplary when the ship’s confiscation after two earlier potential sabotage incidents in which the suspicious ships left the Baltic Sea.

The first appeared at the end of 2023 when a Chinese container ship New polar bearCut a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia with its anchor, but was not stopped.

The second participant A Chinese bulk goodsThe Yi Peng 3, which exceeded two data cables in the Baltic Sea in November for the times when they were separated.

In international waters between Denmark and Sweden it stopped for a month, and the Chinese investigators climbed. But the Swedish government criticized Beijing because he did not allow the leading Swedish investigator to climb or inspect the ship.

The recent incident is made when the three Baltic states separate their electricity systems from the former Soviet network at the beginning of February and integrated into the continental European power grid, some fear that a further potential disorder feared before the process.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the EU and NATO after their independence after their forced annexation through the Soviet Union and saw their switch to the European electricity system as a final integration into the West.

Kęstutis Borys, Lithuania Foreign Minister, said The navigation rules in the Baltic Sea had to be checked “especially when it comes to using anchors”, and added that there were now so many incidents that there was hardly any chance that they could give all accidents.

The repair of data cables took much less time than time for gas or power connections, and the Latvian radio and television center stated that he had found alternative routes for its communication.

Cartography of Aditi Bhandari