SOFIA, January 27. /TASS/. The Bulgarian vessel Vezhen is suspected of damaging the communication cable between Sweden and Latvia in the Baltic Sea, Aleksandar Kalchev, executive director of the state-owned company Bulgarian Marine Fleet, reported after the detention of the Malta-flagged ship.
He denied the claim that the cable was damaged intentionally.
"There were strong winds and waves in the area where the incident happened, which made it difficult to control the situation. In the morning it was established that the stoppers were damaged, the left anchor went into the water, dragging along the sea bottom. It is possible that the vessel damaged the fiber cable, but I do not believe that this was sabotage," said Kalchev, quoted by the Nova TV channel.
On January 24, Vezhen left Russia's port of Ust-Luga. The vessel under the command of 41-year-old captain Anton Atanasov, had an international crew, including eight Bulgarian citizens.
On January 26, it was passing through the waters between Sweden and Latvia.
On January 26, the Swedish Prosecutor's Office began an investigation into the alleged sabotage after the communication cable between these countries in the Baltic Sea was damaged. Swedish authorities are conducting investigative activities. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry told the TV channel that the embassy in Sweden is in contact with local authorities and is monitoring the situation.
Latvia's State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) reported on January 26 that the undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden had been damaged by an external impact. According to the center, the data transmission monitoring system detected interruptions on the Ventspils-Gotland section. The LVRTC informed the Latvian Navy about the incident. The Latvian servicemen in turn informed NATO allies, including Sweden, about the incident.