Suspected sabotage of a raw-water pump on Gotland

On the evening of Sunday 2 March 2025, a fault alarm was triggered at around 17:30 at a raw-water pumping facility at Tingstäde träsk, a wetland and surface-water intake that supplies drinking water to Visby and other parts of Gotland. According to SVT, a technician dispatched to the site discovered that someone had forced open an electrical cabinet and disconnected a cable, cutting power to the pump. The cable was reconnected and the alarm reset by 21:30 the same evening.

Swedish police cordoned off the location and classified the case as suspected sabotage, carrying out a crime-scene examination the following morning. The Local reported that Sweden's Säpo security police confirmed a report of the incident had been received, though Säpo was not leading the investigation. Police described the act as the deliberate opening of the cabinet and disconnection of a cable.

Region Gotland stated that there was no impact on the public drinking-water supply, because the region was able to draw water from alternative sources. Officials noted, however, that had the intervention gone undetected, a large part of the island's water supply could have been disrupted. Gotland holds particular strategic importance in the Baltic following Sweden's NATO accession.

The incident is treated as suspected sabotage rather than a proven attack; no individual was identified and no actor has been officially attributed. The deliberate nature of the cable disconnection and the targeting of critical water infrastructure raised concern among Swedish authorities, set against a wider pattern of suspected hybrid activity in the Baltic. In April 2025, police discontinued the preliminary investigation, citing an inability to establish who was responsible, while noting it could be reopened if new information emerged. Operational resilience prevented any disruption to drinking-water deliveries.