What has happened?
A fibre-optic data cable belonging to Latvian public service TV and radio channel LVRTC, linking Gotland and Ventspils, has been damaged. The cable is about 50 metres below the surface of the Baltic Sea.
The Vezhen, a ship flying under the Maltese flag which left a Russian harbour on Friday, has been seized by Swedish authorities.
"Yesterday [Sunday] evening, we seized a vessel that we suspected being part of this sabotage. The vessel was seized and is now currently anchored in Swedish waters outside Karlskrona. The vessel's name is Vezhen," a spokesperson for the Swedish security police, Säpo, told The Local.
"Swedish authorities are currently on board the vessel in order to carry out investigative measures. Swedish authorities were on board as of yesterday evening and have been on board since then."
According to a photographer from the TT newswire, who saw the vessel on Monday, the vessel's port side anchor is damaged. Images from the ship taken in July last year show an intact anchor, but it is not yet clear at what point the anchor was damaged.
The CEO of the Bulgarian company which owns the ship, Aleksandr Kaltjev, denied when questioned by AFP that the damage was intentional. He also said that the vessel was ordered by the Swedish coast guard to enter Swedish waters.
The fact that the ship is in Swedish waters is important, as it means that Swedish authorities have the right to board the ship, which was not the case with the Yi Peng 3, a different vessel suspected of cable sabotage in the Baltic.
That vessel was in international waters, which meant that the country where the ship is registered, China, could bar Swedish prosecutor Henrik Söderman from boarding to investigate in December.
The Local's Richard Orange went to Karlskrona on Monday, where the K 033 coast guard vessel which stopped Vezhen was back in the main Handelshamnen harbour. While he was there the vessel was boarded by several black clad officers, although we could not confirm whether or not they were from the security police.
When did it happen?
It's not entirely clear, but it appears to have happened early on Sunday morning.
Where did it take place?
The break took place in Swedish waters. According to LVRTC, the damage is located 130 kilometres from the channel's Ventspils site.
"We suspect that gross sabotage took place in the Swedish economic zone yesterday," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told the TT newswire on Monday morning. "Because of this, we reacted very quickly. Multiple authorities met at short notice and started to handle this incident."
Ljungqvist did not comment on the ship's damaged anchor, citing the ongoing investigation.
How was it damaged?
According to Vineta Sprugaine from LVRTC, there is "reason to believe" that the cable is seriously damaged, and that it was caused by "external influence". Having said that, it has not yet been confirmed that it was deliberately damaged.
Ships and aircraft from other Nato members are working together "with national resources from the Baltic countries to investigate and take measures if needed," according to the defence alliance.
It's not yet clear who, if anyone, is behind the incident.
"If it turns out that the damage was deliberate, then it's very difficult to find someone else other than Russia who could be behind it," former Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi told Expressen.
What next?
Sweden's security services, Säpo, are investigating the incident as potential gross sabotage, as any potential crime could be targeted at Swedish interests, Säpo said, while confirming that Swedish authorities have been on board the seized vessel since Sunday.
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