Sweden Ends Search for Suspected Submarine

Swedish corvette Visby taking part in a search for a suspected foreign vessel in the Stockholm archipelago, Mysingen Bay, Sweden, 21 October 2014. Photo EPA/BGNES

Sweden on Friday called off its search for a suspected foreign submarine in the sea south of Stockholm.

The week-long operation reminiscent of the days of the Cold War had been investigating what the Swedish military called "foreign underwater activities". According to Swedish media reports, the country’s Navy vessels and patrol aircraft had been searching the Stockholm archipelago for a suspected damaged Russian submarine.

Sweden’s Armed Forces said in a statement Navy vessels and amphibious forces have been ordered to end their search and have returned to base but some ground forces will remain in the area.

Russia has denied any of its Navy vessels was involved after Swedish media last week carried allegations emergency radio calls in Russian were intercepted.

A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman on Friday said Sweden's naval  mobilisation raised tensions in the Baltic and may result in “undermining the foundations of marine economic activity in the region”.

“The chances to find Russian trace in this area are slim to none,” according to the spokesman.

The Swedish naval mobilisation was the largest since the 1980s when the country frequently conducted hunts for suspected Russian submarines along its Baltic Sea coast.

Sweden started dismantling its anti-submarine force after the end of the Cold War as part of cuts in the country’s defence spending and shift in focus from territorial defence to international peacekeeping operations.

 

 

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