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Norwegian police say Russian nationals from seized ship not under arrest

The Norwegian-flagged Silver Dania operated by a crew of 11 Russians was seized in Norway’s economic zone at the request of Latvia

© NTB/ Rune Stoltz Bertinussen/ via REUTERS

LONDON, January 31. /TASS/. Russian crew members from the Silver Dania, a ship recently seized by Norway, have not been placed under arrest, the Troms County police told the Russian Embassy in Oslo.

"To the embassy's inquiry about the seizure of the Silver Dania with the Russian crew in the Norwegian economic zone, representatives of the Troms County police replied that the Russian citizens have not been arrested. The police informed the crew of the ship they could contact the embassy in Oslo and the Consulate General in Kirkenes. No appeals have been received so far. The embassy is closely monitoring the situation," an embassy representative told TASS.

The Norwegian-flagged Silver Dania operated by a crew of 11 Russians was seized in Norway’s economic zone at the request of Latvia. The crew are suspected of damaging an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea. Police said the shipowner and the crew are cooperating with the investigation. The ship and her crew were taken to the Norwegian polar port of Tromso. Police officers are conducting a search on board and questioning the crew.

Company chief Tormod Fossmark denied the ship had anything to do with the damage to the submarine cable off Gotland as she did not lower her anchor there, Agence France-Presse reported. It is believed that the cable was damaged by an anchor. According to Fossmark, the vessel was brought to port to rule out her involvement in the incident.

Latvia’s State Radio and Television Center reported on January 26 that an undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden had been damaged by an external impact. According to the broadcaster, the data transmission monitoring system detected interruptions on the Ventspils-Gotland section. The broadcaster alerted the Latvian Navy about the incident.

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