*** Sweden rules out sabotage in Latvia cable damage, releases ship | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Sweden rules out sabotage in Latvia cable damage, releases ship

AFP | Stockholm

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Swedish prosecutors yesterday ruled out sabotage in the case of a damaged Baltic Sea fibre-optic cable and said they were releasing a Bulgarian ship seized after the incident, concluding it had caused the damage by accident.

Sweden seized the Malta-flagged Vezhen after damage was discovered on a fibre-optic cable between Sweden and Latvia on the floor of the Baltic Sea on January 26.

The CEO of the Bulgarian shipping company NaviBulgar had denied any wrongdoing.

"The investigation concerning a cable break between Sweden and Latvia in the Baltic Sea has clarified that it is not a case of gross sabotage," the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.

The authority added that a decision had been made "to lift the seizure of the ship suspected of being involved in the cable break."

"It has been established that a combination of weather conditions and deficiencies in equipment and seamanship contributed to the cable break," Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.

Ljungqvist added that "at the same time, we have been able to establish that it is the ship that was seized that caused the cable break."

The damage to the cable -- which belongs to Latvia's state radio and television centre (LVRTC) -- occurred in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 metres (164 feet).

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