Norway Seizes Russian-Manned Vessel Suspected of Undersea Cable Sabotage
1 February 2025
Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian-manned cargo ship suspected of damaging an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, the latest in a series of apparent acts of sabotage targeting critical infrastructure in the region.
The Silver Dania was stopped by Norwegian coast guards and police near Tromsø on Thursday evening. At the request of Latvian authorities and an order from a Norwegian court, law enforcement officers boarded the vessel and towed it to port. Norway has launched an investigation into the vessel. The incident follows damage to a communications cable connecting Sweden and Latvia earlier this week. The Russian-manned vessel is likely to be the suspect in the suspected sabotage.
"There is a suspicion that someone on this ship was involved in the cable incident," Norwegian prosecutor Ronny Jørgensen told a televised press briefing. Prosecutor Jørgensen described the act as “serious vandalism.”
The 36-year-old cargo ship Silver Dania was sailing between St. Petersburg and Murmansk when it was stopped. The ship’s 11-person crew are under investigation, but no arrests or charges have yet been made. Authorities are conducting searches and questioning crew members in connection with the incident.
The ship’s Norwegian owner, Silver Sea, has denied any wrongdoing and denied any possible charges. “We have agreed to dock at a Norwegian port for inspection. We are cooperating fully with the authorities,” said the company’s CEO, Tormod Fossmark.
SWEDEN: MAJOR SABOTAGE
The rupture of cables between Sweden and Latvia is the latest in a series of possible incidents targeting underwater infrastructure in the Baltic region. On Monday, Swedish authorities detained a different ship, a bulk carrier belonging to a Bulgarian company and sailing under the Maltese flag, in connection with what they described as a “massive sabotage” of a Swedish-Latvian underwater cable.
Concerns about underwater sabotage have been growing since 2022, when a series of underwater explosions destroyed parts of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline connecting Russia to Western Europe. However, in that incident, Russia suffered the damage and the attack was alleged to have been carried out by a Ukrainian colonel or team.
More recently, in December, an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia snapped, prompting authorities to seize an oil tanker suspected of dragging its anchor on the seabed. The incident prompted NATO to launch “Baltic Sentry,” an operation that deploys naval ships and aircraft to monitor regional maritime security. NATO has set up a patrol in the Baltic Sea to monitor only such attacks.
While no definitive evidence has been made public linking Russia to these incidents, officials in Finland and Estonia suspect Russian involvement. They have pointed to a so-called “shadow fleet” of Russian-linked ships that evade Western sanctions on Russian oil shipments as potential culprits of the hybrid warfare tactics.
Moscow vehemently denies any involvement in the Baltic sabotage incidents. Despite strong suspicions from Western intelligence and military officials, concrete evidence of Kremlin involvement remains elusive. Investigations into the various incidents are ongoing, and officials warn that definitive proof of deliberate sabotage may never emerge.
Prof. Dr. Sedat Laçiner, who we spoke to about the issue, said that strange and mysterious events have been occurring in Europe since the Ukraine War, and that Russia seems a natural suspect. Laçiner said, "Europe blames Russia and says that the Moscow spy network is implementing an illegitimate method of war against Europe. Western countries cannot provide unquestionable evidence on this issue, but such coincidences do not fit the natural flow of life." On the other hand, according to Prof. Dr. Laçiner, it is not possible to explain the sabotage of the Nord Stream line only with Ukraine, no one seems innocent in this matter. (SLHA, 1 February 2025)
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