OSLO - Police in Norway said they had released a Russian-crewed cargo ship seized over suspected involvement in damage to a fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea, having found no evidence linking it to the incident.
The Norway-flagged "Silver Dania" was sailing between Saint Petersburg and Murmansk when a Norwegian coastguard ship stopped it late Thursday off the coast of Tromso in northern Norway.
The seizure came after Sweden and Latvia said Sunday that a fibre-optic cable linking the Swedish island of Gotland to Ventspils in Latvia had been damaged -- the latest of several similar incidents in the Baltic in recent months.
"No findings have been made linking the ship to the act," police attorney Ronny Jorgensen said in a statement.
"The investigation will continue, but we see no reason for the ship to remain in Tromso any longer," he added.
Nations around the Baltic Sea have scrambled to bolster their defences over the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.
The ship's owner rejected any wrongdoing as Norwegian police searched the ship and questioned the all-Russian crew, following a seizure request from Latvia.
Jorgensen, the police prosecutor, had said a crew member was suspected of involvement in the cable damage, which he described as "aggravated vandalism".
The Silver Dania is owned by Norwegian shipping company Silver Sea, whose chief Tormod Fossmark told AFP that "We sailed near Gotland... but we did not cast anchor.
"We did nothing wrong," he added. "Norwegian authorities have brought us into port to clear us of any involvement."
The Russian embassy in Oslo had told AFP by email that none of the sailors had been placed under arrest nor had they contacted the embassy for assistance.