The suspect in the Nord Stream cable break – the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3 – may have attempted to sabotage cables off the Danish island of Læso 10 days before the incident.
According to underwater footage, underwater footage analysis and AIS system data conducted by Danish broadcaster TV2, Yi Peng 3 was seen acting suspiciously near Læso Island on November 7.
According to Scandasia, underwater drones operated by TV2, TV2 Nord and TV4 Sweden off the coast of Læso captured footage of a very large, dark footprint on the seabed.
Drone operator Trond Larsen of Blueye Robotics confirmed that the tracks matched the coordinates of the Yi Peng 3 ship when it passed through the Danish data cable on November 7. “There is a clear indication that the tracks are in the same direction as the Yi Peng 3,” he said.
This latest discovery strengthens experts' suspicions that the Yi Peng 3 may have been involved in sabotaging three Danish-Swedish cables located on the seabed off Læso.
New AIS data shows the Yi Peng 3 slowed down as it passed cables off Læso before coming to a complete stop.
The ship remained in this state for about five minutes before the propellers were turned back on and the ship headed south through the Kattegat Strait.
Data shows that this was the only time during the entire route from Port Said in Egypt to Ust-Luga in Russia that the Chinese ship made this move.
A former captain and now a defense analyst for Nordic Defense Analysis told TV2: "I find it doubtful that a merchant ship - which is essentially going from port to port - would operate in this way. A merchant ship would not normally act like that."
"From the AIS trace, you can see that this 225-meter-long ship did not take any evasive action like other ships. Therefore, there is a suspicion that the ship's speed was reduced just above or when passing through the cable," said defense analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen.
The Yi Peng 3 is currently anchored in the Kattegat Strait, monitored by Danish, Swedish and German naval vessels. The Chinese ship is being investigated for a cable cut in the Baltic Sea that has disrupted communications between several European countries. The two cables that were cut near Nord Stream were the Arelion cable connecting Sweden to Lithuania and the C-Lion1 cable connecting Finland to Germany. The Chinese ship is accused of cutting the cables by dragging its anchor along the seabed for 160 km.
Sweden, Finland and Lithuania are investigating the Nord Stream cable break on November 17 and 18. Stockholm has sent an official request to China, asking Beijing to cooperate in the investigation of the cable break. China has expressed its willingness to support the effort to find out the truth about the Nord Stream cable break.
