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The Troms Police District has carried out a number of investigative steps with a view to the request they have received from Latvia. The investigation was continued, but there was no reason for the ship to remain in Tromsø. No findings have been made that link the ship to sabotage, so that it was released on Jan 31. On Feb 1 at around 7 a.m. UTC the ship left the port en route to Murmansk, where it is expected to arrive on the afternoon of Feb 2. The CEO of the Silver Sea Shipping Group, Tormod Fossmark, denied the vessel’s involvement in the incident and highlighted that the vessel did not drop its anchor and thus could not have damaged the cable. The suspected sabotage of the telecom cable in the Baltic Sea is under investigation by the Latvian and Swedish authorities.

The 'Huihai Pacific' has discharged its Russian oil cargo in Tianjin on Jan 31. It had originally been heading for Dongjiakou, a port in the Shandong province. The tanker has been sanctioned by the US on Jan 10 and berthed in the port following an unusually long journey in which it changed its destination from the Shandong province, a hub for independent refiners. spending almost four weeks at sea, much more than the regular journey from Kozmino to China that usually takes less than a week. The 'Huihai Pacific', which isa regular on the route from Kozmino on Russia’s Pacific coast to China, then unloaded nearly 770,000 barrels of ESPO crude. The USA have imposed broad sanctions on Russian oil exports on Jan 10, blacklisting at least 70% of the fleet that serve Kozmino. While those vessels, including the 'Huihai Pacific', have until the end of February to discharge cargoes loaded before the restrictions were announced, Several of them have been idling off China after the Shandong Port Group Co., which manages multiple terminals in the province, issued a directive. China’s independent refiners, most of which are in Shandong, have been the most enthusiastic buyers of ESPO and Sokol crude from Russia’s Far East due to discounts and short travel times. They may now be faced with considerably higher transport costs to keep taking the oil.

The 'Silver Dania', en route from St.Petersburg to Murmansk, was detained by the 'Bison' of the Norwegian Coast Guard on a request from Latvian authorities on the night of Jan 31, 2025, suspected of involvement in sabotage against a fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea. The 11 crew members were all Russian natioalities. Both the crew and the shipping company cooperated with the police, and voluntarily went to Tromsø. The suspicious ship days sailed straight northwards before it around midnight it made a sharp turn eastwards towards the port of Tromsø. The 'Bison' was waiting in the area before it at the same time sailed to Tromsø. On the morning of Jan 31 assearch was in process in the port of Tromsø. Crew members were being questioned by the police. There wer forensic examinations of the ship and a search of the ship's interior. The police have also started a digital investigation where they were looking at digital devices that can be found on the ship. The 'Silver Dania' is one of several ships suspected of involvement in the damage of the cable. The vessel is owned by Norwegian company Fjord Shipping. Several of the company's ships are cooperating closely with Russian partners. One of them - the Silver Copenhagen - is involved in landing of Russian fish to European ports. The Norwegian reefer is cooperating with Russian fishery company Norebo. Reports with photos: https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/ship-suspected-of-sabotage-is-detained-by-norwegian-coast-guard/423992 https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/01/31/noorwegen-letland-rusland-sabotage-onderzeese-kabel-schip-silver/

On Jan 28 a statement was published by the British Parliament which confirmed that the UK had deployed Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) assets to track and monitor the 'Yantar' as it moved through British waters. The operation involved a coordinated effort by maritime patrol aircraft, the Minehunter HMS 'Cattistock', the River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS 'Tyne', and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) 'Proteus', a survey and surveillance ship. In addition, the British Parliament authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface close to the 'Yantar'—strictly as a deterrent measure—to signal that UK forces had been covertly monitoring the Russian vessel’s every move. Following this decisive action, the 'Yantar' has left UK waters without further loitering and continued its journey towards the Mediterranean.

The TT-Line has entered live commercial negotiations after receiving an offer to lease the 'Spirit of Tasmania IV'. As a result, the Bass Strait ferry will remain in Leith until the end of February as TT-Line was moving to finalise terms and conditions. The ferry — one of two being commissioned to replace the existing aging Bass Strait ferries — left the shipbuilding yards in Finland at the end of November, and has remained at the port of Leith ever since. The second ship, the 'Spirit of Tasmania V', is still under construction. The 'Spirit of Tasmania IV' was initially slated to arrive in Devonport in Tasmania's north-west in late 2024, but TT-Line failed to build a berth in time. Devonport does not have a berth large enough to accommodate the bigger ship, meaning it has been unable to operate its intended Geelong to Devonport route. Leith was identified as the most cost effective and climate-suitable location to store the new vessels for two years. The berth will not be ready until February 2027, although the government was trying to get it ready for October 2026. In the meantime, the Tasmanian government has been looking at leasing out the ship, which is being kept in Scotland because TT-Line claims it will be easier to lease it out from there. The government would make a decision about the ship's future by the end of January. One of the main arguments for leasing out the ship is to try to recuperate some money. During the two months it has been in Scotland it has already racked up quite the bill. The first month of storing the ship was a lot more expensive, with TT-Line charged $47,534 per week. Since then, the cost has dropped to $23,915 per week and will remain that price during February.