The Latvian police did not find evidence of a link between the ship, which was in the port of Liepāja, and the damage to the fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea. The investigation continues.
According to authorities, the ship was considered a possible suspect, but at this time no link to the incident has been confirmed.
On the night before Monday, January 5, law enforcement completed an inspection of the vessel: they examined the hull and the anchor, checked the technical equipment and the logs on board, and questioned several people. The crew cooperated, providing all the information needed for the investigation.
The police added that the information gathered so far does not confirm this vessel’s involvement in the damage to the fiber-optic cable. The investigation continues; the circumstances of the incident are being clarified, and the motives and mechanisms of the damage are being specified.
Current status of the investigation
On January 2, near Liepāja in the Baltic Sea, damage to a fiber-optic cable belonging to private company Arelion was discovered. The incident did not affect Latvian or Lithuanian users of the network, and the exact causes remain unknown.
It is also known that on December 31, the Finnish telecommunications company Elisa reported damage to a cable connection between Finland and Estonia in the Gulf of Finland. On the same day, Finnish authorities detained a ship suspected of causing damage to the undersea telecommunications infrastructure.