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

Police in the Norwegian port of Tromso say they have seized a vessel sailing between two Russian ports. Swedish and Latvian investigators are looking into the severing of an underwater cable under the Baltic Sea.

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

Norwegian authorities on Friday said they seized a commercial ship with an all-Russian crew suspected of damaging an undersea telecom cable in the Baltic Sea.

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.

The Russian crew of the cargo vessel Silver Dania is under investigation for possible involvement in a fiber-optic cable incident between Latvia and Sweden.

Norwegian police have searched the Silver Dania vessel, which has a Russian crew, on suspicion of involvement in damaging an undersea fiber optic cable, VG outlet wrote on Jan. 30.

OSLO - 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.

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

Police said there is suspicion that the Norwegian-owned and Russian-crewed ship had been involved in serious cable damage discovered last weekend.