DISINFO: NATO pirates act against Russian-linked ships under the pretext of sabotage
SUMMARY
Baltic pirates chase another ship under the pretext of suspected sabotage. The Swedish Coast Guard is carrying out activities against the Malta-flagged ship Vezhen, which was in the area at the moment of the damage to the submarine optic fibre cable between Latvia and Sweden. It is possible that the ship may be detained, as Finnish authorities did in December 2024 with tanker Eagle S without legal foundations to do so. Unfortunately, [Russia's] forecast about the intensification of NATO pirate actions against vessels linked to Russia is becoming true.
RESPONSE
This is a manipulation of actual events. By portraying Sweden’s Coast Guard or the navies of NATO countries as “pirates”, this disinformation story aims to falsely portray their actions as illicit.
Swedish authorities boarded the vessel Vezhen on 26 January 2025 to conduct an investigation after an undersea fibre optic cable connecting the country with Latvia was cut, almost certainly as a result of misuse of the ship’s anchor, which was visibly damaged. As there are strong suspicions of deliberate sabotage, which would constitute a criminal act, Sweden is exercising a lawful right to protect its critical infrastructure and act against potentially criminal activities.
The incident took place two months after a similar episode involving the tanker Eagle S, which carried Russian oil. Finnish authorities stopped the vessel under suspicions that it had cut another connection cable between Finland and Estonia. Finnish investigators also affirmed that Eagle S was poised to cause further damage to other cables and pipelines. Indicators of a sabotage operation were strong enough for Finland to detain members of the ship's crew for investigations. Eagle S has earlier been claimed to have been loaded with spying equipment.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives about these incidents, such as claims that NATO legalises piracy in the Baltic Sea, that Ukrainian spies sabotaged the undersea internet cable to Finland, or that "Baltic Sentry" is NATO’s maritime blockade to lock Russia in.