site.btaUPDATED Foreign Ministry Says Bulgarian Crew of Detained Ship in Good Health, Embassy Has Kept in Contact All Along

The Bulgarians on board the bulk carrier Vezhen are in good health, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The Bulgarian crew members of the detained vessel were visited by Stefan Stoykov, head of the Consular Service at the Bulgarian Embassy in Sweden. The Consul met with all eight Bulgarians on board and talked with them for three hours. At present, they do not need food supplies or medication, they have food and water and are free to move around the vessel.

The Bulgarian officers said their rights had been respected by the local law enforcement authorities during the investigation. They have testified to the Swedish investigative authorities through a translator.

The Bulgarian sailors thanked Bulgaria, the Foreign Ministry and the Embassy in Stockholm for their efforts, and the Consul for maintaining constant contact and providing assistance.

The Embassy in Stockholm remains ready to continue supporting the Bulgarian officers, the Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev told reporters the head of the consular office in Stockholm had boarded the Vezhen. The Consul has been in contact with the ship's captain and the rest of the crew all along, as their communication has not been restricted at any point.

Georgiev said: "Our crew has not been detained, has not been restrained, no measures have been taken against them. We have not let the situation out of our sight for a moment."

On January 27, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said that it launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage, after the detention of Vezhen in the Baltic Sea, as it was suspected of damaging an underwater fibre optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

The head of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security Plamen Tonchev told MPs on Thursday that there currently is no evidence to support a sabotage hypothesis, but "work continues on all versions".

Another vessel, the Norwegian ship Silver Dania with an all-Russian crew that was suspected of damaging the same cable, was released, as no evidence to link it to the incident had been found, the Norwegian authorities said quoted by Reuters.

On January 27, Alexander Kalchev, CEO of the shipowner, Navibulgar, said that while the ship's anchor may have damaged the cable, it was no act of sabotage, as the anchor's guillotine-type stopper was likely damaged by the stormy weather and sea waves reaching as high as 3 metres.