Data cable between Finland and Sweden damaged: Is there a crime behind it?

By Miriam Arndts

Stockholm/Helsinki - A data cable running between Finland and Sweden was damaged on Tuesday night.

One such data cable, which runs between Finland and Sweden, was found to be damaged.
One such data cable, which runs between Finland and Sweden, was found to be damaged.  © Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/dpa

This was reported by Sveriges Radio, referring to police reports. According to this, the Finnish police assume that a crime has been committed. The Swedish Telecommunications Authority (PTS) confirmed to the newspaper "Dagens Nyheter" that two damages were found on an internet cable on land on Finnish territory.

Finnish Transport and Communications Minister Lulu Ranne wrote on X that the authorities are investigating the matter. "We are taking the situation seriously," Ranne concluded her post.

In November, damage to two fiber optic cables in the Baltic Sea occurred within a short period of time.

These were a cable running between Sweden and Lithuania and one between Finland and Germany.

The cause is still unclear in both cases.

Suspicious ship from China

The Swedish authorities are investigating possible sabotage.

The investigators are focusing on a Chinese ship named "Yi Peng 3", which is said to have passed the affected areas of the cables at the time in question.