Sweden asks China for help with Chinese ship accused of cutting data cables
Yi Peng-3 dragged anchor 100 miles across the Baltic Sea
Sweden has formally requested assistance from authorities in China over a Chinese ship suspected of deliberately cutting data cables in the Baltic Sea.
Warships from Denmark, Germany and Sweden intercepted the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, a Chinese-flagged and –crewed vessel, early on 19th November, following the incident on 17th and 18th November.
The company’s Chinese owner, Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is also reportedly cooperating with the investigation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Western intelligence officials don’t believe the Chinese government is involved. Instead, they point the finger of blame at Russia, suggesting that the company or crew were persuaded to carry out the operation by Russian intelligence.
The vessel had docked near St Petersburg days prior to the incident, and one of its crew is believed to be Russian.
While authorities in Russia have dismissed claims of their involvement as “absurd, unsubstantiated”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China would support the investigators “in accordance with international law.”
Investigators are sceptical that the crew of the ship would not have noticed that they were dragging their anchor for more than 100 miles, as this would have drastically cut its speed and manoeuvrability.
Moreover, the ship had not worked far from China until recently. From 2019 until March 2024 the ship had operated exclusively in Chinese waters. But from March 2024, the ship started carrying various cargoes between Russia ports.
Investigators say that the ship dropped anchor in Swedish waters on 17th November, dragging the anchor as it crossed the Baltic into Lithuanian waters. This caused a communications outage at 10am on a cable operated by Arelion.
At about 3am on 18th November, having travelled about 110 miles, the ship cut a second cable, operated by Cinia, between Germany and Finland.
While the ship was performing these manoeuvres its Automatic Identification System had been switched off. Shortly thereafter, the ship raised its anchor, continuing its course with Danish Navy ships in pursuit. It stopped in the Kattegat Strait at the neck of the Baltic Sea where it joins the North Sea, where it was intercepted.
The cables were restored on 28th and 29th November, respectively, 11 days after they were cut.
It’s not the first time that a Russo-Chinese crewed ship has been involved in an international incident. In October 2023, the Newnew Polar Bear, another China-registered ship, was alleged to have cut the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a telecoms cable between Finland and Estonia by dragging its anchor. That ship was not detained and continued towards Arctic Russia.