Latest news with #Vezhen
Japan Times
25-02-2025
- Japan Times
Damage to Baltic Sea telecoms cable may have occurred in January
STOCKHOLM – Finland's telecoms operator said on Monday that the damage reported last week to its C-Lion1 telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea may have occurred as early as Jan. 26, the same day a cargo ship broke another undersea cable in the area. Swedish and Finnish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany, while adding it was not immediately clear when the damage had occurred. The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most have been caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors. Operator Cinia said in an emailed statement on Monday that it believed the damage of the C-Lion1 had occurred on Jan. 26 at 2:37 a.m. Finnish time (00:37 GMT) and that the cause was still unknown. The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fiber-optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time. A Swedish prosecutor said on Feb. 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage. The Vezhen passed the Sweden-Latvia cable at 0045 GMT on Jan. 26, MarineTraffic data showed. Swedish police did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted on Monday. Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which lists the Vezhen among its fleet, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Globe and Mail
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Damage to Baltic Sea telecoms cable may have occurred in January, Finland's operator says
Finland's telecoms operator said on Monday that the damage reported last week to its C-Lion1 telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea may have occurred as early as Jan. 26, the same day a cargo ship broke another undersea cable in the area. Swedish and Finnish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany, while adding it was not immediately clear when the damage had occurred. The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most have been caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors. Operator Cinia said in an emailed statement on Monday that it believed the damage of the C-Lion1 had occurred on January 26 at 0237 a.m. Finnish time (0037 GMT) and that the cause was still unknown. The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time. A Swedish prosecutor said on February 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage. The Vezhen passed the Sweden-Latvia cable at 0045 GMT on Jan. 26, MarineTraffic data analyzed by Reuters showed. Swedish police did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters on Monday. Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which lists the Vezhen among its fleet, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Damage to Baltic Sea telecoms cable may have occurred in January, operator says
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Finland's telecoms operator said on Monday that the damage reported last week to its C-Lion1 telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea may have occurred as early as January 26, the same day a cargo ship broke another undersea cable in the area. Swedish and Finnish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany, while adding it was not immediately clear when the damage had occurred. The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most have been caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Operator Cinia said in an emailed statement on Monday that it believed the damage of the C-Lion1 had occurred on January 26 at 0237 a.m. Finnish time (0037 GMT) and that the cause was still unknown. The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time. A Swedish prosecutor said on February 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage. The Vezhen passed the Sweden-Latvia cable at 0045 GMT on January 26, MarineTraffic data analysed by Reuters showed. Swedish police did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters on Monday. Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which lists the Vezhen among its fleet, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Reuters
24-02-2025
- General
- Reuters
Damage to Baltic Sea telecoms cable may have occurred in January, operator says
Summary Companies Police launched investigation of cable damage on Friday Operator says damage may have occurred on January 26 Coincides with a previous breach that was ruled accidental Vessels dragging anchors have damaged infrastructure STOCKHOLM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Finland's telecoms operator said on Monday that the damage reported last week to its C-Lion1 telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea may have occurred as early as January 26, the same day a cargo ship broke another undersea cable in the area. Swedish and Finnish police said on Friday they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany, while adding it was not immediately clear when the damage had occurred. The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most have been caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors. Operator Cinia said in an emailed statement on Monday that it believed the damage of the C-Lion1 had occurred on January 26 at 0237 a.m. Finnish time (0037 GMT) and that the cause was still unknown. The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time. A Swedish prosecutor said on February 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage. The Vezhen passed the Sweden-Latvia cable at 0045 GMT on January 26, MarineTraffic data analysed by Reuters showed. Swedish police did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters on Monday. Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which lists the Vezhen among its fleet, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Norway releases Russian-crewed ship after cable damage
Police in Norway said Friday they had released a Russian-crewed cargo ship seized over suspected involvement in damage to a fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea, having found no evidence linking it to the incident. It was the latest development in a series of suspected acts of sabotage that many officials believe form part of a Russian "hybrid war" against Western allies of Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022. The Norway-flagged "Silver Dania" was sailing between Saint Petersburg and Murmansk when a Norwegian coastguard ship stopped it late Thursday off the coast of Tromso in northern Norway. The seizure came after Sweden and Latvia said Sunday that a fibre-optic cable linking the Swedish island of Gotland to Ventspils in Latvia had been damaged -- the latest of several similar incidents in the Baltic in recent months. "No findings have been made linking the ship to the act," police attorney Ronny Jorgensen said in a statement. "The investigation will continue, but we see no reason for the ship to remain in Tromso any longer," he added. Nations around the Baltic Sea have scrambled to bolster their defences over the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months. - 'Nothing wrong' - The ship's owner rejected any wrongdoing as Norwegian police searched the ship and questioned the all-Russian crew, following a seizure request from Latvia. Jorgensen, the police prosecutor, had said a crew member was suspected of involvement in the cable damage, which he described as "aggravated vandalism". The Silver Dania is owned by Norwegian shipping company Silver Sea, whose chief Tormod Fossmark told AFP that "We sailed near Gotland... 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." The Russian embassy in Oslo had told AFP by email that none of the sailors had been placed under arrest nor had they contacted the embassy for assistance. - Bulgarian ship under investigation - On Sunday, the Swedish coastguard seized a Bulgarian ship, the Malta-flagged "Vezhen", off Sweden's southeastern coast in connection with the same cable incident. Swedish prosecutors have opened an investigation into "aggravated sabotage", and images of the vessel published by Swedish media appeared to show that one of its anchors had a broken arm. Alexander Kalchev, CEO of Navibulgar, the Bulgarian maritime shipping company that operates the Vezhen, denied any involvement. "I am convinced that we cannot say... that this was a malicious act," he said. But prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Swedish news agency TT on Friday that 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... 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 affecting cables in the Baltic Sea amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 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. Russia had warned both countries of repercussions if they joined the alliance. In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe. The cause is 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 response, NATO launched in mid-January 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/js/jj
