– The investigation shows that the cable was most likely torn away by a fishing vessel, which then cut the cable, says police attorney Ronny Jørgensen in Troms police district. news has previously covered the 10-tonne cable that disappeared from the seabed off Bø in Vesterålen. The cable was used by the Institute of Marine Research. It provided scientists with valuable information and images from the depths of the ocean. But also sensitive information. Among other things about submarine activity in the area. Therefore, there was a rapid mood for crisis when it turned out that 4.2 km of the surveillance cable had disappeared without a trace. Since then, researchers, police and PST have tried to find out what has happened. The cable break itself is believed to have taken place in April last year, but it was only after an inspection with a remote-controlled underwater drone in September that it was revealed that the cable had been torn away, and the case was reported to the police in October. At the end of November, large parts of the missing cable were found by the research ship GO Sars. Legal fishing in the area – It has not been possible to prove vessels that have caused the incident or whether the actual cable break has occurred negligently or intentionally, and the criminal case has therefore been dropped, says Jørgensen. The cable collects information from a number of observation platforms on the seabed off Lofoten, and at the same time supplies the underwater platforms with power from land. The police have investigated the case to find out if there is a criminal act behind the cable break. They state in a press release that the investigation has consisted of, among other things, information from employees at the Institute of Marine Research, a review of vessel data in the relevant area and the time period. They have also carried out technical investigations of the torn cable, and investigated the discovery of insulation material in the beach zone that probably originated from the cable. Furthermore, they conducted interrogations of crews on a Russian trawler that was in the area in question when the cable break was registered. – Fishing activity has taken place in the area for a long time, and the activity is legal in accordance with fisheries legislation, says Jørgensen in the police. Have looked at the connection The investigation of the fiber cables that were broken between the mainland and Svalbard in January this year was dropped due to lack of evidence in March. – The police have looked at possible connections between the two cases, without changing the outcome in any of them.
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The police close the cable break at Lofoten-Vesterålen sea observatory – news Troms and Finnmark
