Norwegian authorities reported having released the vessel SILVER DANIA, which had been detained under suspicion of damaging the undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea. The announcement was made on 31st January, after a day of investigation by the authorities.
SILVER DANIA is the second vessel named in the investigation of damage to the undersea telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea. The bulker VEZHEN was the first vessel to come under suspicion and was detained much earlier by Swedish authorities.
Latvian authorities suspected the SILVER DANIA involvement in the damage to a fiber optic cable that was reported on Sunday, 26th January. The now severed cable connected Ventspils, Latvia, and Sweden’s Gotland Island.
Following the court order from Latvian authorities on Friday morning, the Norwegian police directed the SILVER DANIA to the port of TROMSO, Norway. The police said the vessel was sailing between the Russian ports of PETERSBURG and MURMANSK at the time.
The authorities boarded the ship to conduct searches, interviewed all the Russian crew, and collected evidence. However, the police attorney Ronny Jorgensen in the Troms police district stated that they did not find any evidence linking the vessel to the incident; hence, it was allowed to leave.
The CEO of the Silver Sea Shipping Group, Tormod Fossmark, who owns SILVER DANIA, denied the vessel’s involvement in the incident. He highlighted that the vessel did not drop its anchor and, hence, could not have damaged the cable.
The suspected sabotage of the telecom cable in the Baltic Sea is under investigation by the Latvian and Swedish authorities.
