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Russia Today
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU nations aim to seize alleged ‘Russian shadow fleet' vessels
Several EU members are considering strengthening the legal framework for seizing ships in the Baltic Sea with the aim of undermining Russian trade, Politico reported on Monday, citing insiders. Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia are allegedly seeking to target vessels on environmental and piracy grounds. Western nations, which have been seeking to find ways to curb Russian energy exports, have accused Moscow of employing a 'shadow fleet' to evade sanctions. In recent months, officials have also accused Moscow of sabotaging undersea cables in the Baltic, though no evidence has been provided to substantiate these allegations. According to Politico's sources, the four states intend to seize suspected shadow fleet ships based on the alleged threat they pose to the environment and to infrastructure, and are seeking EU backing for the initiative. They could amend national legislation to 'make it easier to grab ships further out at sea,' including by mandating a list of insurers for maritime operations in the Baltic. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told the news outlet that there are 'lots of opportunities' for enforcing trade restrictions against Russia. Last December, Finland seized the tanker 'Eagle S' amid an investigation into the damage to the Estlink 2 power cable. The vessel remains impounded despite the Finnish authorities reportedly finding no evidence of wrongdoing. Read more Moscow slams West for 'fantastic hypocrisy' Conversely, a Norwegian cargo ship with an all-Russian crew was released in late January after Norwegian police concluded there were no grounds to continue its detention. The Latvian authorities had requested the seizure of the Silver Dania over an incident involving an optic cable owned by the national broadcaster LVRTC earlier the same month. Moscow has accused Western nations of peddling a false narrative that frames routine accidents as evidence of a Russian sabotage campaign. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has criticized purveyors for 'fantastic hypocrisy,' citing the lack of findings in European inquiries into the September 2022 destruction of Nord Stream gas pipelines. The 'non-investigation' of that incident suggests that EU nations deem Joe Biden's threat against Russian-German infrastructure 'proper,' Zakharova said last month, referring to remarks made by the then-US president months before the attack. READ MORE: NATO claims Russia plotted to kill EU weapons giant boss President Vladimir Putin has characterized Western sanctions as tools of non-economic pressure wielded by countries unable to compete with Russia on an equal footing. He views them as a challenge to make the national economy better. 'No blackmail or attempts to impose anything on us will ever yield results. Russia is confident in its rightness and strength,' he said in a recent speech.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
New ship under suspicion after fresh cable damage in Baltic Sea
A suspicious ship with a Russian crew has been detained in Norway after the latest incidence of cable damage in the Baltic Sea. The Silver Dania is suspected of being involved in damaging a fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden, the police in the city of Tromsø in northern Norway said on Friday. As a result, it was brought to the city's port at the request of the Latvian authorities, they said. The police are currently on board the ship to conduct searches, interrogations and to secure evidence. The ship is registered in Norway, the police said, and has a Norwegian owner but operates between the Russian cities of St Petersburg and Murmansk. The entire crew is also Russian, they said. The Latvian police confirmed, upon request, that they have made a request for mutual legal assistance and are working closely with the Norwegian law enforcement authorities. They did not want to provide further details due to the ongoing investigations. Another ship already detained by Sweden Following a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea, damage occurred last Sunday to a data cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and the port city of Ventspils in Latvia, which is used by the Latvian Broadcasting and Television Centre (LVRTC). Subsequently, the Swedish authorities detained another ship with a Bulgarian owner and launched investigations into possible serious sabotage. The owner has denied any sabotage allegations. The Silver Dania is said to have passed the cable at about the same time. A representative of its shipping company told the Norwegian newspaper Fiskeribladet: "We have done nothing wrong." They also stated that no anchor was dropped at that time.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norway detains Russian-crewed vessel over undersea cable damage suspicion
Norwegian authorities detained the Silver Dania vessel with a Russian crew on Jan. 30 on suspicion of it damaging an undersea fiber-optic cable linking Latvia and Sweden, the Norwegian police announced. The vessel, which operates under the Norwegian flag and travels between St. Petersburg and Murmansk, was seized in Tromso at Latvia's request following a local court order. The police are searching the ship and questioning the crew. The damaged cable is one of several recent incidents in the Baltic Sea that are being investigated as possible acts of sabotage. The Latvian State Radio and Television Broadcasting Center (LVRTC) reported on Jan. 26 that an external impact had significantly damaged the underwater cable. While data transmission services were rerouted to alternative pathways, some users in Latvia experienced slower speeds. A previous case on Dec. 25 saw the destruction of four telecommunication cables and a power cable, with Finnish authorities suspecting a Russian "shadow fleet" vessel was involved. These ships are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports. In response to the incidents, NATO has dispatched additional patrol ships to the region to safeguard critical infrastructure. While intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe increasingly suspect the damage may be due to maritime accidents rather than deliberate sabotage, investigations remain ongoing. Concerns over Russian hybrid warfare tactics persist, particularly as suspicious activities involving Russian-registered vessels near Denmark and Sweden continue to raise alarms in the region. Read also: Finland announces $206 million military package for Ukraine We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Norway seizes Russian-crewed ship over suspected cable damage
Norwegian police said on Friday they had seized a Norwegian-owned ship at Latvia's request over its suspected involvement in damage done to a Baltic Sea cable. The vessel's owner has rejected any wrongdoing. Nations around the Baltic Sea have scrambled to bolster their defences since the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months, with some observers blaming Russia. The Norway-flagged cargo ship, the Silver Dania, was sailing between Saint Petersburg and Murmansk when a Norwegian coast guard ship stopped it on Thursday evening off the coast of Tromso in northern Norway. "The ship is suspected to have been involved in serious damage to a fibre cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden," police said. "Police are now on board the ship to search, carry out interrogations and secure evidence," it said, adding that the crew and shipowner were cooperating with police. "The entire crew on board is Russian," they added. Sweden and Latvia announced on January 26 that a fibre optic cable -- owned by Latvia's state radio and television centre (LVRTC) and linking the Swedish island of Gotland to Ventspils in Latvia -- had been damaged. The Silver Dania is owned by Norwegian shipping company Silver Sea. The shipowner told AFP the vessel had nothing to do with the damaged cable. "We sailed near Gotland," Silver Sea boss Tormod Fossmark said, "but we did not cast anchor." "We did nothing wrong," he added. "Norwegian authorities have brought us into port to clear us of any involvement." Fossmark said the Russian crew had "sailed for us for a long time". "They did nothing wrong," he insisted, saying he was "100-percent sure". - Bulgarian ship under investigation - The Swedish coast guard seized a Bulgarian ship, the Malta-flagged Vezhen, off Sweden's southeastern coast on January 26. It is suspected of damaging the cable in question. Swedish prosecutors opened an investigation into "aggravated sabotage". Images of the vessel published by Swedish media appeared to show one of Vezhen's anchors had a broken arm. Alexander Kalchev, CEO of Navibulgar, the Bulgarian maritime shipping company that operates the Vezhen, denied any involvement in the damaged cable. "I am convinced that we cannot say... that this was a malicious act," he said. But the Swedish prosecutor in the case, Mats Ljungqvist, told Swedish news agency TT on Friday he was confident the Vezhen was involved. "I think I can say, on very solid grounds, that it is this ship that has damaged the cable," he said. "Our work is continuing. We're working hard. The ship is still seized and there are various investigative measures being taken, including technical examinations," he said. The incident is the latest in a series of cases of cables being damaged in the Baltic Sea, amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since the invasion, Finland and Sweden, which both border the Baltic Sea, have dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO as concern about the region's security mounts. In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined. In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship. In November 2024, two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed, and on December 25, the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged. In mid-January, NATO launched a Baltic Sea patrol mission to secure critical underwater infrastructure. Frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, submarines and drones are involved in the Baltic Sentry patrols. phy/po/gil
Saudi Gazette
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Sweden seizes ship after suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage
STOCKHOLM — Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable running under the Baltic Sea to said an initial investigation pointed to sabotage, and an inquiry has been launched involving Sweden's police, military, and coast on Sunday, Latvia's military reported that two ships were seen in the area where the damage apparent attack comes less than a month after Nato launched a new mission in the Baltic Sea in response to repeated attacks on underwater power and telecom cables – some of which have been blamed on Prime Minister Evika Silina said her country was working closely with Sweden and Nato in response to the cable belongs to Latvia's state broadcaster, LVRTC, which said in a statement there had been "disruptions in data transmission services", but that end users would be mostly this month, Nato launched its new "Baltic Sentry" mission, after several cables under the Baltic Sea were damaged or severed in chief Mark Rutte said the mission would involve more patrol aircraft, warships and Russia was not directly singled out as a culprit in the cable damage, Rutte said Nato would step up its monitoring of Moscow's "shadow fleet" — ships without clear ownership that are used to carry embargoed oil said there was "reason for grave concern" over infrastructure damage, adding that Nato would respond to future incidents robustly, with more boarding of suspect vessels and, if necessary, their seizure. Finnish police late last year said they were investigating whether a Russian ship was involved in the sabotage of an electricity cable running between Finland and Estonia. — BBC
