On 2 January 2026, a submarine fiber-optic cable belonging to a private company was found damaged in Latvian territorial waters near Liepaja. Latvian authorities suspect a ship caused the damage, after analysis indicated it first passed over an inactive cable and then altered course to run over the cable that was damaged. The vessel is currently docked at the port of Liepaja; its crew is cooperating with investigators and has not been detained. This is the second submarine cable damage incident in the Baltic Sea within a week, following a previous event at the end of December 2025 involving a data cable between Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship found with its anchor chain lowered near the previous damage site. Prior similar incidents have involved vessels from the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which are suspected of circumventing Western sanctions amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

On 2 January 2026, a submarine fiber-optic cable belonging to a private company was found damaged in Latvian territorial waters near Liepaja. Latvian authorities suspect a ship caused the damage, after analysis indicated it first passed over an inactive cable and then altered course to run over the cable that was damaged. The vessel is currently docked at the port of Liepaja; its crew is cooperating with investigators and has not been detained. This is the second submarine cable damage incident in the Baltic Sea within a week, following a previous event at the end of December 2025 involving a data cable between Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship found with its anchor chain lowered near the previous damage site. Prior similar incidents have involved vessels from the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which are suspected of circumventing Western sanctions amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.