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Norway Seizes Russian-Crewed Ship Suspected in Baltic Sea Cable Sabotage

Troms Police District has brought in the Norwegian-owned cargo ship Silver Dania following a court request from Latvian authorities, on January 31. The ship is suspected of being involved in damage to a fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden.
The vessel, registered in Norway, operates between St. Petersburg and Murmansk. According to a police statement, its entire crew consists of Russian nationals. The investigation is ongoing, and the Norwegian Police Security Service has been informed as part of standard procedure.
The Bergen-based shipping company that owns the Silver Dania denies any wrongdoing. "We have sailed through the relevant area off Gotland at 13.5 knots at the relevant time. We have not had any anchor out,” said shipowner Tormod Fossmark in a statement to Fiskeribladet.

The ship was escorted to Tromsø by the coast guard vessel KV Bison on Thursday night. It arrived at Tromsø Port in Breivika at 6:40 a.m. on Friday. Authorities say the crew and the shipping company are cooperating with the investigation.
At a press conference on Friday, Norwegian police attorney Ronny Andre Jørgensen confirmed that searches, interrogations, and evidence collection are underway.
"It is suspected that someone on board the ship had something to do with the cable incident in the Baltic Sea. It is considered serious damage," Jørgensen said. "This is one of several ships suspected of having something to do with this. We cannot go into further investigation. We have to come back to this."
Ståle Ulriksen a researcher at the Norwegian Naval Academy in Dagbladet said, “What we know for sure is that there is pressure from Russian authorities to get Russian seafarers to take pilotage certificates in Norway, so they can sail without a pilot,” He emphasized that this is a general observation and not specific to the Silver Dania case.
“We also know for sure that Russian authorities have been "pushing" to get Norwegian shipping companies to hire Russian seafarers.It shows that Russian authorities have an interest in having their sailors on Norwegian ships and in Norwegian waters,” Ulriksen argues.
The investigation is ongoing, and Norwegian authorities have not yet confirmed whether any charges will be filed.
On January 28, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of threats from Russia’s shadow fleet, speaking in Berlin on January 28, he emphasized NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation to protect undersea infrastructure and ensure security.