Latvia Reports New Subsea Cable Breach Caused by "External Damage"

Anchor with short flukes discovered at scene of previous cable break (Finland National Bureau of Investigation file image)

Early on Sunday morning, a subsea fiber-optic cable between Gotland and Latvia was "significantly damaged," according to the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC). Vineta Sprugaine, Head of Corporate Communications at LVRTC, said in a statement that there is reason to believe that the damage was caused by "external forces," but the precise location and extent of damage have not yet been identified.

LVRTC has recommended a criminal investigation into the cause of the breach, and state police chief Armands Ruks told Latvian outlet LTV that a criminal proceeding has been opened for "intentional damage to another's property."

NATO is responding to the break as a potential anchor-drag incident, the fourth in little more than a year in the Baltic. Warships from NATO's Baltic security patrol mission have intercepted two ships, one of which has been detained. Open-source intelligence analysts have identified the suspect vessels as the Maltese-flagged bulker Vezhen and the Russia-linked LNG carrier Pskov, formerly operated by Russian state shipping company Sovcomflot.

The disruption occurred on the Ventspils-Gotland section of the data cable in the early hours of Sunday morning. Vezhen was transiting close to Gotland, within the Swedish EEZ, and AIS data appears to show that she slowed for half an hour after passing the cable crossings. Pskov was in international waters, and her AIS track showed signs of transmission interruption, a possible indication that the transceiver may have been temporarily turned off.

Like most vessels in the Sovcomflot fleet, Pskov's ownership and management were recently transferred to holding companies in business-friendly jurisdictions. As of Sunday evening, the vessel was still under way in the Baltic in international waters, escorted by multiple NATO patrol vessels.

"Sweden, Latvia and NATO are closely cooperating on the matter. Sweden will contribute with relevant capabilities to the effort to investigate the suspected incident," said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.