Norwegian police seized a Russian-crewed ship on suspicion of being involved in causing “serious damage” to a fiber cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden.

A second vessel suspected of damaging a subsea data cable connecting Sweden and Latvia has been detained, this time by authorities in Norway.

Latvia said it had dispatched a warship on Sunday after damage to a fibre optic cable to Sweden that may have been "due to external factors". The statement added: "Based on current findings, it is presumed that the cable is significantly damaged due to external factors.