Vezhen

Prosecutors have decided to close the preliminary investigation into the 'Vezhen', which was suspected of involvement in a serious sabotage of a communications cable between Gotland and Ventspils on Jan 26. The 'Vezhen' was seized off Aspö outside Karlskrona. The seizure was lifted in February. The overall picture was now that this was not a matter of deliberate sabotage, there would not have been a viable criminal plan to carry out the cable break in the way that happened, according to Chamber Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist at the National Unit for Security Cases. During the day in question, there was very bad weather along the Vezhen route in the Baltic Sea and the prosecutor believed that the cable break was caused by several broken safety devices on the anchor. A strong wave caused the lock to break. The investigation clearly showed that the cable break was caused by a combination of severe weather, technical deficiencies and suspected poor seamanship on the vessel. As a case of negligence in maritime traffic, the prosecutor did not have jurisdiction at the place where it occurred. During the investigation, Sweden has cooperated with Latvian authorities, they have now requested that the evidence be handed over to them and were still formally conducting an investigation The incident was one of several high-profile cases where cables were damaged under unclear circumstances between November 2023 and January 2025.

The Latvian police have now launched their own investigation into the cable break that occurred in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden in January, which led to the 'Vehzen' being suspected of sabotage and being seized. The Vehzen was anchored south of Aspö, but was later released after Swedish authorities determined that it was not sabotage. According to Janis Sarts, head of Stratcom NATO's center for strategic communications in Riga, one should be very careful about concluding that it was an accident.

After a damage was remarked at the data cable C-Lion1.which connects Finland and Germany, the authorities were still investigating the incident, but now believed that it is a damage that has been caused by the 'Vezhen' on Jan 26, which has only now become known. The authorities are working on the theory that it is the anchor of the Chinese tanker that caused the now-observed damage. The C-Lion1 cable was also damaged in November and again in December 2024. After the suspected cable break was discovered on Feb 19 in the Swedish economic zone off Gotland, a preliminary investigation has been launched by the Police Authority, with the Coast Guard assisting, which sent a ship on Feb 21. Initially a preliminary investigation into sabotage was initiated so that the police could have access to the tools needed to clarify what happened. The investigation began on Feb 20. The company Cinia owns the cable. The company confirmed a minor damage, which did not affect communication connections. Cinia's largest owner is the Finnish state and is tasked with strengthening Finland's digital connectivity and cybersecurity. At the end of January, the National Task Force stormed the 'Vezhen' on suspicion of serious sabotage after a cable break in the Baltic Sea between Gotland and Latvia. Just over a week later, the Swedish investigation determined that it was not a case of sabotage. However, in Latvia, the investigation is still in full swing and they are still investigating whether the cable was damaged intentionally.

Sweden has released the 'Vezhen', after the investigation has shown that this case was not a case of sabotage, according to the public prosecutor. The ship therefore allowed to leave Karlskrona and continue its journey. The cause of the cable damage between Latvia and Sweden is now considered to be a combination of weather conditions and deficiencies in equipment and seamanship, according to senior public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist. At the same time, however, it was said that they were convinced that the "Vezhen" was responsible for the damage on the night of Jan 26. The affected submarine cable is used by the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), and the damage occurred in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. Latvia sent naval divers to the site of the damage shortly afterwards. As of Feb 3, the 'Vezhen' remained statioary in pos. 56° 04' N 015° 32' E. Reports with photos: https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/0Vq3O0/haver-beslag-av-fartyg-inget-sabotage https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/aklagaren-haver-beslut-om-beslagtaget-fartyg