Police say a Norwegian-owned and Russian-crewed ship that authorities suspect may have been involved in damage to an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland has been stopped off Norway.

The NATO military alliance is ramping up efforts to protect undersea cables in the region amid growing concerns of Russian sabotage and spying. View on euronews

The incident is the latest in a series of cases of cables being damaged in the Baltic Sea, amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Russian-crewed, Norwegian-owned ship Silver Dania is being searched in relation to damage to a fiber cable in the Baltic Sea.

Norwegian police have arrested a ship with a Russian crew on suspicion of involvement in the damage to a fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. Source: European Pravda, citing the police’s statement Details: Norwegian authorities confirmed that the Silver Dania was detained following a legal request from Latvian authorities

“The arrest took place at the request of Latvian authorities,” the police in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsoe said

Norwegian police said on Friday they had seized and boarded a Norwegian ship with an all-Russian crew on suspicion of involvement in causing damage to a telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea, the second vessel to be named by investigators in the case.

The Norwegian vessel Silver Dania with a crew consisting entirely of Russian citizens was detained by the Norwegian Coast Guard at the request of Latvia on suspicion of cable damage in the Baltic Sea.

Norwegian police have arrested a ship suspected of damaging a telecoms cable between Latvia and Sweden last weekend, according to the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

The Russian crew and Norway-owned shipping company are cooperating with the authorities, police say, days after Sweden detained another vessel.

Norwegian police said on Friday they had seized a Norwegian-owned ship at Latvia's request over its suspected involvement in damage done to a Baltic Sea cable.