European, Chinese Officials Board Ship Linked to Cable Damage
By Sanne Wass
(Bloomberg) -- Representatives from Sweden, Finland, Germany accompanied Chinese officials to board a China-registered ship that was potentially involved in undersea cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea last month.
The bulk carrier, Yi Peng 3, has been anchored just outside Denmark’s territorial waters for a month. Swedish and Finnish authorities have previously said the commercial vessel was of interest as incidents of data cable damages in the Baltic Sea are investigated.
Officials from the three countries and China will “collectively inspect the ship,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on Thursday. He said his nation coordinated the move after two days of meetings between the four nations. Denmark also has an observer onboard, he said.
“There has been interest from the countries that have experienced damage to cables, and from Denmark because the ship has sailed in Danish waters, in getting to the bottom of this matter,” Lokke Rasmussen said.
Swedish police said in a separate statement that Chinese authorities are conducting the investigations aboard the vessel, and have invited Sweden onboard “in an observer role.”
A high-speed fiber optic cable connecting Finland and Germany was cut in mid-November by what was likely an external impact, while a nearby link between Lithuania and Sweden was also damaged. Yi Peng 3 was in the vicinity of two cables when it happened.
Sweden, Finland and Lithuania are working together to investigate the cause of the broken cables. However, the onboard investigations on Yi Peng 3 are not part of this probe, and no investigative measures will be carried out by Sweden boarding the ship Thursday, Swedish police said in a statement on Thursday.
--With assistance from Christopher Jungstedt.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Bulker Accused of Cutting Baltic Cables May Have Tried Once Before
European investigators believe that the Chinese bulker Yi Peng 3 intentionally severed two subsea cables in the Baltic last month, likely on behalf of Russian intelligence services. This week, Danish news station TV2 found evidence that Yi Peng 3 may have attempted to snag three other subsea cables in the Kattegat, ten days before the suspected attack in the Baltic.
On Nov. 17-18, two subsea cables suddenly broke off the coast of Sweden. Based on AIS data, Swedish authorities know that the bulker was maneuvering oddly at the sites where the cables were severed; in addition, photos of the ship's bow show that one of its anchors is badly twisted, and an ROV inspection of the damaged cable sites showed clear signs of anchor-dragging. Yi Peng 3 has been anchored just outside of the Danish territorial seas off Jutland ever since, guarded by Danish and German vessels - though no boarding has occurred, since she is in international waters and her flag state (China) has yet to grant permission.
Over the last few weeks, Danish news outlet TV2 - in conjunction with TV4 and Nordic Defense Analysis - examined Yi Peng 3's AIS record in detail, including data from her inbound transit as she headed for Ust-Luga, Russia. They found that on November 7, off Laeso in the middle of the Kattegat, Yi Peng 3 slowed down and came to a stop while passing over three subsea cables.
The maneuver looked suspicious, and there was no obvious reason for a commercial bulker to stop at that location. TV2 decided to investigate further and brought in mini-ROV firm BluEye Robotics to do a site survey. After a short boat trip out to the Kattegat and a few hours of ROV inspection, they found a long dragline and a deep impression, much like the imprint of a dropped anchor. The location and direction of the single dragline corresponded precisely with Yi Peng 3's AIS track from November 7.
"When we look at the sonar recordings, we can see that there are a number of parallel tracks down there, and then over a longer distance there is a much larger drag track, which also has the same course as Yi Peng 3 had," confirmed analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen of Nordic Defense Analysis, speaking to TV2. "It's striking."
Denmark expects Chinese ship probed over
cut cables to depart
By AFP
December 19, 2024
Denmark’s foreign minister said Thursday that he expected a Chinese ship, anchored off the Danish coast and linked to two severed undersea cables, would be able to leave once an inspection which included four countries was completed.
Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.
Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship — the Yi Peng 3 — which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.
The Yi Peng 3 has remained anchored in international waters in the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark since November 19.
“Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role,” Swedish police said in a statement Thursday.
It added that “no investigative measures will be taken by the Swedish Police Authority aboard the vessel.”
Police stressed that the “investigations taking place on the vessel on Thursday are not part of the police investigation.”
Police also said the visit was facilitated by Danish authorities and that the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority would also take part.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish media that representatives from four countries — China, Sweden, Germany and Finland — were aboard the ship.
– Mounting tensions –
Rasmussen added that a Danish representative was also there “due to the facilitating role we have played”, referring to meetings held between the country at the foreign affairs ministry in Copenhagen earlier this week.
“It is our expectation that once the inspection is completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail to its destination,” Rasmussen said.
European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has rejected the comments as “absurd” and “laughable”.
Sweden in late November requested China’s cooperation in the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there was no “accusation” of any sort.
Early on November 17, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged.
The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden’s Oland island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) from Helsinki.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
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