Norwegian Ship Cleared in Baltic Sea Cable Damage Investigation

Norwegian authorities have released the Norwegian-owned, Russian-crewed ship Silver Dania, suspected of damaging a fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland. The investigation, prompted by a Latvian request and a Norwegian court ruling, found no evidence implicating the ship. The vessel was detained in Tromsø after suspicions arose from its route between St. Petersburg and Murmansk, but police attorney Ronny Jørgensen said: "Tromsø police district has now conducted a number of investigative steps and secured what we see as necessary considering the request from Latvia. The investigation will continue, but we see no reason for the ship to remain in Tromsø any longer."

Tormod Fossmark, CEO of the ship's owner SilverSea, insisted the vessel had no involvement, citing onboard tracking data showing no irregularities. Fossmark said: "We have no involvement in this whatsoever. We did not have any anchors out or do anything, so that will be confirmed today." The ship, carrying no cargo, was anticipated to continue its journey later that day. The investigation into the cable damage began after it was detected on Sunday, with Swedish prosecutors eyeing potential sabotage and detaining the Malta-flagged Vezhen. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)