Swedish prosecutors have concluded their investigation into the damage to a communication cable located between Sweden and Latvia in the Baltic Sea. They found that the incident was not due to sabotage, but was accidental.

The investigation began after the discovery of damage to the undersea fiber optic cable on January 26, 2025. Authorities in Sweden detained the Maltese-flagged bulk ship Vezhen on suspicions of serious sabotage, but released it on February 3.

Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist from the National Security Unit said, “Thanks to a quick and effective effort by the Security Police, Police Authority, Coast Guard, and Armed Forces, we have clarified the causes of the cable break.” He added that the investigation showed that the incident resulted from a mix of bad weather, technical issues, and possible shortcomings in the ship's navigation.

Investigators carried out an extensive examination of the scene and reviewed the ship's black box as well as video footage of the event leading up to the cable damage. Their analysis identified a series of failures that contributed to the accident.

On the night of January 25, severe weather with high waves hit the Baltic Sea. The anchor of the vessel should have been secured with three safety devices, but two were not functioning. Earlier that same morning, the last working device—the so-called Bear Lock—failed after being hit by a strong wave, allowing the anchor and chain to fully deploy.

The anchor's deployment caused the ship to slow down and turn, but because the autopilot was on, it adjusted without alerting anyone on the bridge. The next day, the ship reached the communication cable off Gotland in the Swedish economic zone, dragging its anchor and damaging the cable.

“We can therefore conclude that the cable was not damaged intentionally,” Ljungqvist stated. “There is no jurisdiction for handling any potential negligence.”

The Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which operates the Vezhen, mentioned earlier that the vessel's anchor dropped to the seabed in strong winds and might have hit the cable, but firmly denied any acts of sabotage.

The preliminary inquiry was transferred in spring 2025 to criminal investigation authorities in Latvia, who are now conducting their own investigation into the cable break.

This incident comes as the Baltic Sea region remains vigilant following numerous outages of power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.