Latvia's prime minister says her government has reached out to Sweden and other Baltic Sea allies in NATO for assistance as it investigates the cause of damage to an underwater fiber-optic data cable running to Sweden.

An undersea data cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on January 26, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea in which critical seabed energy and communications lines are believed to have been severed by ships traveling to or from Russian ports.

Direct challenges to Baltic security include regional aggression waged by Russia and policies of Belarus complementing the aims of Moscow. The conventional warfare in countries across the border from the Eastern Flank of NATO and the EU is aggravated by civilian displacement and migration from Ukraine and the Middle East.

Earlier this month, NATO began a new mission dubbed "Baltic Sentry" which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide "enhanced surveillance and deterrence" in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.

Following damage to an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, Latvia has made initial progress in the search for the cause. During investigations at the

Sweden on Sunday said it had seized a ship suspected of having damaged a fibre-optic cable under the Baltic Sea linking the country to Latvia, which sent a warship to investigate the latest apparent act of sabotage.

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.

RIGA, Latvia (AP ... aggravated “sabotage” and ordered the detention of a vessel in the Baltic Sea suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish ...

NATO is ratcheting up its guard against suspected attempts to sabotage underwater energy and data cables and pipelines that crisscross the Baltic Sea.

NATO launched 'Baltic Sentry', a new naval mission to prevent attacks on cable infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The alliance says Russia is to blame for recent incidents, but can increased NATO patrols make a difference?

Sweden said Sunday that it seized a vessel suspected of damaging a fiber-optic cable under the Baltic Sea that links the country to Latvia, in what authorities are investigating as an act of "aggravated sabotage.

Sweden Seizes Vessel Suspected of 'Sabotage' After Undersea Data Cable Rupture in Baltic Sea RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Swedish prosecutors announced Sunday night that they have opened a preliminary ...