Berliner Tageblatt - Chinese ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables sets sail

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 had been anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark.

Ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi-Peng 3 steaming north out of the strait on Saturday and Sweden's coast guard confirmed that the vessel had lifted anchor.

"She has reported that she is heading for Egypt and Port Said," Hanna Buhler, duty officer at the Swedish Coast Guard told AFP, adding that they would continue to monitor the ship.

On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited aboard for an investigation led by China.

A Danish representative also accompanied the group as Denmark had served a "facilitating role" by hosting meetings between the countries at the Danish foreign ministry earlier in the week, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had said.

- 'Observer role' -

"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.

Swedish police on Thursday confirmed that they were going onboard the ship as observers.

"Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role," police said adding it would not be taking any "investigative measures".

The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) also took part in the visit, but noted that as the ship was "anchored in international waters", where "Swedish authorities are not able to exercise jurisdiction over a foreign vessel".

John Ahlberk, director of SHK, told AFP on Thursday that they were hoping to gather "as much information as possible".

"There have been claims that the cable breakage has to do with anchors from the ship. So it is interesting for us to hear what the crew has to say about it," he said.

Ahlberk noted that it was not clear to what extent they would be able to speak to the crew or conduct their own investigations since the investigation was led by Chinese authorities aboard a Chinese ship.

European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has rejected the comments as "absurd" and "laughable".

- No accusation -

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.

Y.Bouchard--BTB