Finland and Sweden urged restraint against premature conclusions.
Media reports suggest a Chinese-flagged merchant vessel, traveling from Russia to Egypt, may be linked to damage affecting two undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea.
The BCS East-West-Interlink cable, connecting Lithuania and Sweden, sustained significant damage on Sunday. A second cable, the C-Lion1 fiber-optic line running between Finland and Germany, was severed Monday morning. The cause of both incidents remains undetermined.
The Financial Times cited an unnamed source stating that Swedish authorities are investigating the Chinese vessel, identified by maritime trackers as the Yi Peng 3, owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping.
The Danish Defense Ministry confirmed its presence near the Yi Peng 3, but offered no further details.
Maritime tracking data shows the Yi Peng 3 stopped in the Kattegat strait, north of Copenhagen, with two Royal Danish Navy vessels nearby. The ship’s journey originated in Ust-Luga, Russia, and was destined for Port Said, Egypt.
The Chinese embassy in Sweden stated it had no information on the matter, while a representative from Ningbo Yipeng said the Danish government requested their cooperation in the investigation.
Finnish officials cautioned against hasty judgments, a stance contrasting with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s suggestion of “hybrid action.”
Pistorius stated his belief that the cable damage was not accidental, indicating a suspicion of sabotage.
Bild and Newsweek, citing anonymous online sources, reported that the Yi Peng 3’s captain is a Russian national.
The C-Lion1 cable’s proximity to the Nord Stream pipelines, damaged by sabotage in September 2022, is noted. The perpetrators of the pipeline attacks remain unidentified, with journalist Seymour Hersh alleging US and Norwegian involvement and some Western newspapers implicating Ukrainian actors.