NATO responds to cable damage in the Baltic Sea

NATO has reacted for the first time to the suspected sabotage of critical infrastructure by dispatching ships to the site of a fiber-optic cable break in the Baltic Sea, where vessels carrying Russian cargo were located, reports NewsBox.  

For the first time, the North Atlantic Alliance undertook coordinated actions in response to an incident involving critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. This pertains to the damage of a fiber-optic cable owned by the Latvian public broadcasting company, in Swedish waters. The operation organized by NATO included ships from the Netherlands and Latvia sent to the site of the damage, where three vessels carrying Russian cargo were situated, reports The Wall Street Journal.

One of the ships, the dry cargo vessel Vezhen, was detained by the Swedish Coast Guard. Its owner, the Bulgarian company Navigation Maritime Bulgare JSC, asserts that the cable damage was due to bad weather, ruling out any intentional cause. Nearby were the tanker Pskov, transporting Russian liquefied gas, and the cargo ship Silver Dania, registered in Norway.

The authorities in Barbados refused to cooperate in the investigation, while the captain of the tanker Pskov ignored requests to stop and headed to Saint Petersburg. Latvian officials involved in the investigation noted that no damage marks were found on the ship's hull.

This incident is part of a series of events linked to hybrid threats in Europe, although previous similar damages have not confirmed the sabotage theory. Since January, NATO has enhanced patrols in the Baltic region, expanding drone and satellite surveillance in areas where critical infrastructure is located.