Swedish authorities have seized a ship over the “aggravated sabotage” of an undersea fibre-optic cable linking Latvia with a strategically important island in Sweden.

A subsea data cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early Sunday, sparking a criminal investigation, a third such incident in the Baltic Sea in the past three months.

A subsea cable connecting Latvia to Sweden’s Gotland island is the latest cable to be damaged in the Baltic Sea. Owned by Latvia’s State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), the cable’s Ventspils–Gotland segment was damaged early on January 26, at depths of 100m.

Authorities in northern Norway released a vessel that was suspected of the latest data cable breach in the Baltic Sea, saying no evidence had been found linking it to the incident.

Swedish prosecutors on Monday ruled out sabotage in the case of a damaged undersea cable and said they were releasing a Bulgarian ship seized in connection with the incident, determining the damage was accidental.

The crew of the vessel Vezhen did not commit sabotage in the Baltic Sea. According to the Swedish prosecutor's office, the cable break between Sweden and Latvia was caused by adverse weather conditions,