Private company's optical cable damaged in the Baltic Sea near Liepaja

An optical cable belonging to a private telecoms company was damaged in the Baltic Sea near Liepaja. The incident was reported on 4 January by Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Silina, who emphasised that it did not affect the country's telecoms users.

Information about the possible damage was received on 3 January from the Lithuanian Crisis Management Centre. The cable owner confirmed the incident and is currently trying to pinpoint the exact location of the break. According to preliminary data, the damage occurred on 2 January, and its cause has not yet been established.

The Latvian State Police has opened a criminal investigation into the intentional destruction or damage to a public electronic network. According to the data analysed by the National Armed Forces, the incident may involve a vessel that was initially moving over the inactive cable and later changed course towards the active, now damaged one. The vessel was checked in the port of Liepaja, and the crew is cooperating with the investigation.

Publicly available data shows that the Palanga Sventoji Liepaja cable has been operating since 1995. It is owned by Arelion, an operator owned by Polhem Infra, a company managed by a Swedish pension fund. The same entity also owns the cable between Sventoja and Gotland, which was damaged in the spring of 2025.

Source and photo: LSM