Chinese ship's damaged anchor stirs Baltic cable probe
The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, suspected of breaking telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea, may have a damaged anchor. Photos published by the Danish broadcaster DR indicate severe "damage" to it.
6:13 AM EST, November 23, 2024
The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which has been in the Kattegat Strait since Tuesday, is suspected of breaking two telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea. Photos published by the Danish public broadcaster DR show that the ship's anchor is seriously damaged, which may suggest it "got stuck somewhere."
Naval captain and analyst at the think tank Nordic Defence Analysis, Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen, emphasized that the damage required a large amount of force to be generated.
Damage to telecommunications cables
On Sunday and Monday, two underwater telecommunications cables were damaged. One of them connects Lithuania with Sweden, and the other connects Finland with Germany. The incident sites are located within the Swedish economic zone, near the islands of Gotland and Öland. Yi Peng 3 departed from the Russian oil port.
Sabotage investigation
The Swedish police have launched an investigation into possible sabotage. Swedish military personnel, supported by underwater drones, are examining the damage sites. The Yi Peng 3 remains under observation by the Danish navy, which is monitoring it from a close distance.
Expert Kristoffersen noted the similarity to last year's incident when the Chinese container ship NewNew Polar Bear damaged a gas pipeline connecting Estonia and Finland. At that time, the ship left the Baltic Sea before the Finnish investigation began. Currently, Yi Peng 3 is in international waters in the Danish economic zone.
