Säpo
Resident on Aspö: "It's scary"
Susanna Nygren
Updated 23.04 | Published 22.09
Säpo suspects gross sabotage after the ship Vezhen traveled over an underwater cable.
On the small island of Aspö, about four kilometers from where the ship is now located, the incident brings back memories.
- It's scary, says Stefan Rubin, 67 years old.
The Security Service suspects that the Maltese-flagged ship Vezhen has been involved in damaging an underwater cable between Latvia and Gotland. On Sunday evening, Swedish authorities boarded the ship.
- The preliminary investigation is being carried out to look into the circumstances surrounding the cable damage and therefore the ship has been seized - because it is interesting for the investigation, says Gabriel Wernstedt, press spokesman for the Security Service.
82-year-old Elisabet Knutsson, who lives on Aspö, noticed that something serious was going on when she got up to go to the toilet on Monday night. Suddenly the sea was bathed in bright light.
– It was so incredibly bright. It felt a bit uncomfortable. I wondered why they had turned on those huge headlights? says Elisabet Knutsson.
In the morning, she and her husband saw the large ship in the fog, about four kilometers off Aspö. Then they heard on the news what had happened.
– It's terribly uncomfortable. Those affected by the cable break will have a terrible inconvenience. But at the same time I think: as long as they don't come up with something even worse, says Elisabet Knutsson.
What do you think about the fact that there have been four similar incidents in three months?
– That's four times too many. It's unacceptable. They should actually be kind enough to behave a little decently.
A few kilometers from the village of Ellenabben lives 67-year-old Stefan Rubin. He shows Aftonbladet's team a path through the terrain down to the sea.
Thinking about a submarine
From there it is possible to see the ship and the coast guard boats. They are monitoring to ensure that the 190-meter-long bulk carrier does not leave Swedish territory before all investigative measures have been taken.
Stefan Rubin does not mince words about the incident.
- It is frightening. But at the same time it makes you a little sober. So many things have happened now, says Stefan Rubin.
He has lived on the island for 40 years and the incident with the ship brings back memories of the grounding of the Russian submarine U137.
- I heard it in the morning. It rumbled around. They had gotten stuck and there was a lot of rumbling when they tried to get free, Stefan Rubin remembers.
That incident was strange, Stefan notes. It's a word he likes to use now too.
– That they were going to anchor right over the cable. I think that's a bit strange.
– It feels more like someone wants to interfere.
"Now we're being affected"
In the middle of Aspö is the island's only grocery store. Morgan Holm - who was born and raised on the island - works there.
– It's a bit scary - what's happening around the lake. Because of everything that's happening in the outside world, we're also being affected, says Morgan Holm.
– We (Sweden ed. note) have always stayed away before. And now we're being affected. It feels a bit half-scary, says Morgan Holm.
Morgan Holm does not believe that the many cable breaks are a coincidence. It is connected to the troubled world situation, he believes.
– Some of them may be an accident, but I do not think that all of them are.
Denys the accusation
The prosecution has opened a preliminary investigation into suspected serious sabotage due to the damage to the underwater cable. Gabriel Wernstedt, press spokesman for the Security Police, tells Aftonbladet that it is believed to be a communication cable between Sweden and Latvia.
On Monday, Swedish police were on board the ship to secure evidence.
Aleksandr Kaltjev, CEO of the Bulgarian shipping company that owns the ship Vezhen, denies that it is a deliberate act of sabotage.
– Due to rough weather, the safety devices that hold the anchor broke and it probably went out on its own, he tells Ekot.
He also denies that the ship is part of the so-called “Russian shadow fleet”.
However, 82-year-old Elisabeth Knutsson does not give much credit to the CEO’s explanation.
– It is so transparent that it takes your breath away. Such an important thing as an anchor is properly secured. You know that if you have worked with boats, says Elisabet Knutsson.
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