XPost: misc.transport.marine, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   XPost: se.transport.sjofart, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: nuke@china.cn   
      
   Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data   
   cable running under the Baltic Sea to Latvia.   
      
   The Vezhen - a Maltese-flagged ship - is now anchored outside the   
   Swedish port of Karlskrona.   
      
   Prosecutors said an initial investigation pointed to sabotage. An   
   inquiry has been launched involving Sweden's police, military and coast   
   guard.   
      
   Images shared by Swedish media showed that the ship appeared to have a   
   damaged anchor.   
      
   However, on Monday, Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime   
   Bulgare, which listed the Vezhen among its fleet, said one of the ship's   
   anchors dropped to sea floor in high winds and that there was no   
   malicious intent.   
      
   On Sunday, Latvia's military reported that three ships were seen in the   
   area where the damage occurred.   
      
   Less than a month ago, Nato launched a new mission in the Baltic Sea in   
   response to repeated attacks on underwater power and telecom cables –   
   some of which have been blamed on Russia.   
      
   Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said her country was working closely   
   with Sweden and Nato in response to the incident.   
      
   The cable belongs to Latvia's state broadcaster, LVRTC, which said in a   
   statement there had been "disruptions in data transmission services",   
   but that end users would be mostly unaffected.   
      
   Earlier this month, Nato launched its new Baltic Sentry mission, after   
   several cables under the Baltic Sea were damaged or severed in 2024.   
      
   Nato chief Mark Rutte said the mission would involve more patrol   
   aircraft, warships and drones.   
      
   While Russia was not directly singled out as a culprit in the cable   
   damage, Rutte said Nato would step up its monitoring of Moscow's "shadow   
   fleet" - ships without clear ownership that are used to carry embargoed   
   oil products.   
      
   Rutte said there was "reason for grave concern" over infrastructure   
   damage, adding that Nato would respond to future incidents robustly,   
   with more boarding of suspect vessels and, if necessary, their seizure.   
      
   Finnish police said late last year they were investigating whether a   
   Russian ship was involved in the sabotage of an electricity cable   
   running between Finland and Estonia.   
      
   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx9g5wwp89o   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)