The Swedish Prosecutor's office released the Vezhen without any consequences for the crew or the vessel, rejecting suspicions of sabotage. The ship was detained a week ago under accusations that it had intentionally severed an optical cable between Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland with its anchor.
The investigation by Swedish authorities determined that the incident was not an act of sabotage, but a combination of bad weather, equipment shortages and insufficient crew members.
It remains unclear whether the "Vezhen" was actually responsible for the cable break between Latvia and Gotland, Navigation Maritime Bulgare said.
"It is still unclear what exactly caused the cable break, but it is clear that our anchor dropped for the reasons we had assumed. Whether the cable was cut and by whom is something that still needs to be answered," said Captain Alexander Kalchev, Executuve Director of Navigation Maritime Bulgare. He added that their initial investigation conclusions have been confirmed by Swedish authorities.
Captain Kalchev expressed disappointment that many people, including politicians, prematurely accused the Bulgarian sailors of eing the perpetrators of the crime.
"I would specifically mention Nikolay Radulov, Kiril Petkov, who has an obsession with Navigation Maritime Bulgare, and Ms. Lena Borislavova, who stood in Parliament and speculated that it was possible for Bulgarian sailors to commit such a low act. They should publicly apologize to the Bulgarian sailors," he urged.
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, all speculation about the involvement of Bulgarian sailors in malicious acts has been debunked, and the case has concluded with a positive resolution.
"The Prosecutor's office has dismissed all suspicions of sabotage or intentional diversion. It has been officially reported that the cable break was due to bad weather and technical reasons. The Bulgarian officers and the entire crew of 'Vezhen' are free, and no charges have been brought against them. For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this case is closed with a positive outcome, and we put an end to all speculation and attempts to damage Bulgaria's good reputation," Georgiev noted.
The ship "Vezhen" will now continue its original route to South America, where it is scheduled to deliver sulfur. Before that, the ship will stop in Denmark for repairs, including the replacement of the damaged anchor and other equipment. A crew change will take place, though only the captain and first mate will be replaced due to expiration of their contracts.
the shipping company "Navigation Maritime Bulgare" will conduct a detailed internal investigation, and discussions will be held with the crew to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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