Two key undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea were severed earlier this month, prompting an investigation into a Chinese cargo ship for suspected sabotage.
European authorities said the Chinese-flagged bulk carrier, identified as Yi Peng 3, dragged its anchor over the Baltic seabed for over 100 miles, cutting the critical internet cables that link four NATO countries.
A timeline of events
On November 15, Yi Peng 3 departed from Russia’s Ust-Luga port on the Baltic Sea carrying Russian fertilizer.
The Ust-Luga port is the largest universal port on the Baltic Sea and the Kremlin’s second-largest port after Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Since Sweden and Finland joined the alliance, the Baltic Sea has been referred to as “NATO lake” because it is almost entirely populated by alliance members.
Two days later, investigators established that the Chinese vessel dropped its anchor around 9 p.m. local time, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. However, the ship continued steaming with its anchor dropped and is believed to have severed an undersea telecoms cable connecting Sweden and Lithuania, per The Journal.
Investigators said Yi Peng 3 continued to sail for another 111 miles with its dragging anchor, which then cut the only communications cable connecting Finland with Germany less than twenty-four hours later.
It was only then that investigators said the vessel raised anchor and continued its route.
It’s highly unusual for any vessel to drag its anchor for this long due to the dangers and fuel waste, an impediment that cannot go unnoticed by the ship’s watch-standers. A crew typically recovers the anchor, or in the worst case, jettisons it, before steaming ahead.
The Chinese bulk carrier is now anchored in the Kattegat Strait and is being monitored by Danish naval patrol vessels as European authorities continue to investigate the potential sabotage.
Concerns of potential sabotage
Investigators said Yi Peng 3’s movements couldn’t be charted after it went “dark,” meaning that the ship’s transponder was shut down or disabled, thus obscuring its position.
Open-source satellite imagery, however, reportedly placed the Chinese ship near the damaged cables at the time of the respective incidents.
An investigator on the case told The Journal that it’s “extremely unlikely” that the ship’s captain wouldn’t have noticed the vessel’s dragging anchor.
“It’s extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way,” the investigator said.
An analysis by Kpler, a global trade analytics firm, provided to The Journal found that “given the mild weather conditions and manageable wave heights, the likelihood of accidental anchor dragging appears minimal.”
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he believed the incident was a result of potential sabotage, telling reporters last week that “nobody believes that these cables were accidentally severed.”
“We have to know that, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a hybrid action, and we also have to assume that, without knowing by whom yet, that this is sabotage,” Pistorius said.
Russia accused of waging ‘hybrid warfare’
Yi Peng 3’s origin of departure raised concerns over potential Russian involvement in the incident, possibly in connection to the war in Ukraine.
Though the Chinese vessel and associated parties are under investigation over damaged cables, Western officials believe that Russian intelligence agencies orchestrated the incident.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russian involvement, calling the accusations “absurd.”
“It’s quite absurd to keep blaming Russia for everything without any grounds. It is laughable in the context of the lack of any reaction to Ukraine’s sabotage activities in the Baltic Sea,” Peskov told reporters on November 20.
Foreign ministers of Finland and Germany released a joint statement on November 18, saying they were “deeply concerned” about the incident, which “immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage [and] speaks volumes about the volatility of our times.
“Our European security is not only under threat from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors,” the ministers said in the statement. “Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies.”
The incident in the Baltic Sea comes just weeks after US officials warned that Russia would likely target undersea cables and other critical maritime infrastructure.
“We are concerned about heightened Russian naval activity worldwide and that Russia’s decision calculus for damaging US and allied undersea critical infrastructure may be changing,” a US official told CNN in September.
The official added that “Russia is continuing to develop naval capabilities for undersea sabotage” through its dedicated military unit known as the General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, or GUGI.
China complying with the investigation
Denmark’s foreign ministry said in a statement earlier this week that investigators were engaged in ongoing “diplomatic dialogue” with the countries “most involved in handling this case, including China.”
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed the talks in a statement last Friday, saying Beijing “is currently working with relevant parties, including Denmark, to maintain smooth communication through diplomatic channels.”
Chinese company Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, which owns Yi Peng 3, is also cooperating with the probe and allowed the vessel to be stopped while Swedish and German authorities negotiate access to the ship and its crew, The Journal reported.
The vessel’s crew, which also includes a Russian sailor, has yet to be questioned due to restrictions under international maritime law.
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