Norway has detained a vessel suspected of severing a Latvian communication cable.

The Norwegian police have detained a Norwegian vessel with a Russian crew on suspicion of damaging a Latvian underwater communication cable in the Baltic Sea. This marks the second ship to be arrested as part of the investigation into the damage to this cable, reported Reuters on Friday, January 31.

The cargo ship Silver Dania was detained by the Norwegian Coast Guard at the request of Latvian authorities, according to the police in the Norwegian city of Tromsø.

“The vessel is suspected of being involved in the serious damage to a fiber optic cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden,” stated the police.

The owner of Silver Dania, the shipping group Silver Sea, denied any involvement of the vessel in the damage to the underwater fiber optic cable, reported the Norwegian TV channel TV2. According to law enforcement, the detained ship was registered in Norway, sailed under its flag, and was en route from St. Petersburg to Murmansk. The owner and crew of Silver Dania voluntarily agreed to have the ship escorted to port by the Coast Guard.

It is worth noting that on January 26, Swedish police detained the cargo ship Vezhen, registered under the Maltese flag, on suspicion that it caused damage to the cable of the Latvian National Radio and Television Center (LVRTC). Reports indicated that the detained vessel left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on January 24 and made a trip near the incident location on January 26.

Mats Ljungqvist, the Swedish prosecutor leading the investigation into the sabotage, stated that the Vezhen caused the cable break.

“We considered the ship that was seized in Norway, but for various reasons we dismissed it,” the prosecutor was quoted by Reuters. He declined to comment on further details of the investigation due to confidentiality.

The head of the Bulgarian company operating the Vezhen confirmed that the vessel might have snagged the underwater Baltic cable with its anchor but denied any malicious intent.

Previously, amid frequent breaks in underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the Alliance would launch the "Baltic Sentry" mission, which will involve patrolling the most critical areas of the sea.