NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with shores on Baltic waters.

Swedish authorities have detained the Bulgarian ship "Vezhen," which is suspected of damaging an optical cable on the Baltic Sea floor. The ship, with a crew of eight Bulgarian officers and nine Myanmar sailors,

NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with shores on Baltic waters

By Johan Ahlander and Anna Ringstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter,

NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with Baltic shores.

Numerous incidents of suspected Russian-linked sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea has seen tensions rise among nearby countries, and an increased Nato presence.

ABOARD A FRENCH NAVY FLIGHT OVER THE BALTIC SEA (AP) — With its powerful camera ... David Klepper in Washington and Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, contributed to this report.

Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, in order to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia's defence minister said on Wednesday following a spate of breaches.

The investigation into the Bulgarian ship "Vezhen" by Swedish authorities is ongoing, with no evidence yet to suggest that the incident was a result of sabotage, according to Plamen Tonchev, the Chairman of the State Agency for National Security (SANS).

The attacks come as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania prepare to cut on February 8 their electricity links to Russia and Belarus.

After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.