A day after the C-Lion1 and BCS data cables in the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland and Germany as well as Sweden and litva, were damaged, details of the incident have not yet been confirmed.
The incident is reminiscent of a similar incident in 2023 when the Balticonnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was damaged. The Hong Kong-registered container ship NewNew Polar Bear was later discovered dragging its anchor through the pipeline.
According to gGaptain, Danish authorities appear to have narrowed down the suspect in the latest incident - possibly the Chinese bulker 3.
The ship was passing through the site of the incident at the time of the incident. AIS data shows the Yi Peng 3 passing through the site of the cable break for about an hour on the morning of 18 November.
When the Yi Peng 3 arrived in Danish waters, the Danish Navy deployed several vessels to monitor the vessel. Online reports show a Danish ponytail was launched on the afternoon of 19 November as the ship continued to cross the Danish Strait.
AIS data shows several Danish patrol vessels near the Yi Peng 3 and shore webcams confirm the Navy vessels are following.
The German and Finnish foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing concern about the incident. The statement said: "Such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage, showing a lot about the instability of our times."
"A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is not only threatened by the Russia-Ukraine conflict but also by the mixed war of the bad. Protecting our shared critical infrastructure is important for the security and resilience of our society."
The underground cable running between Lithuania and Sweden in the Baltic Sea was broken at around 10am local time on November 17. The cable between Germany and Finland was broken at around 3pm local time on 18 November. The cable runs near two Nord Stream gas pipelines, which once transported Russian gas to Germany.
The four NATO countries - Finland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania - have conducted an initial investigation into the possibility of sabotage. Sweden is leading the investigation because both incidents occurred in the Swedish economic zone, a Swedish Defense Ministry official told ABC News.
Damage to underground cables and pipelines across Europe has increased in recent years, including in the Arctic. In 2022, Norway reported that an underground fiber optic cable connecting a satellite ground station on Svalbard Island to mainland Norway had been cut off. Norwegian media reported that a Russian ship had traveled back and forth repeatedly on the damaged section.
The Finnish investigation into the NewNew Polar Bear incident in 2023 concluded that the ship anchored to avoid the storm and dragged through the Balticonnector pipeline. The ship was discovered to have lost anchor on its first port call after the incident.
Like the Yi Peng 3, the NewNew Polar Bear departed from a Russian port before the incident.
