When two cables snapped in the Baltic Sea last month, European officials quickly dispatched coast guard vessels to intercept a Chinese-flagged commercial vessel suspected of being involved.
The incident occurred more than 23 days ago. The Yi Peng 3 remains anchored in the Baltic Sea, monitored by a rotating fleet of coast guard vessels as Sweden, Finland and Lithuania investigate.
However, information about what happened to the two broken cables, or whether the Chinese-flagged ship was involved, has not been released by authorities.
When asked for an update, the Swedish Foreign Ministry cited a statement from last month that it was “awaiting the results of the investigation,” according to the New York Times. A spokesman for the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office reiterated that the cable break is under joint investigation and that no new details have been released.
The mystery surrounding the Yi Peng 3 comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe following a number of incidents of sabotage across the continent, including arson, attacks...
In the summer of 2022, several explosions blew up the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, also in the Baltic Sea. The Nord Stream sabotage cut off the supply of Russian gas to Western Europe.
US intelligence agencies assess that a pro-Ukrainian group is the suspect in the Nord Stream sabotage, but so far, the information has not been confirmed.
It is also unclear who was responsible for the two most recent cable breaks in the Baltic Sea. Shortly after the cable breaks, the German and Finnish foreign ministries issued a joint statement warning of “hybrid warfare by malicious actors” targeting Europe’s critical infrastructure.
“No one believes that these cables were accidentally cut,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters last month.
Last year, the Chinese-flagged vessel Newnew Polar Bear dropped anchor and severed the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. The Newnew Polar Bear entered international waters before local authorities opened an investigation, but the same scenario did not happen with the Yi Peng 3.
The Yi Peng 3 container ship departed from the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, according to the commercial ship tracking service Marine Traffic. From there, the ship traveled nearly the entire length of the Baltic Sea. The first cable, connecting Lithuania and Sweden, was severed on the morning of Nov. 17. The second cable, connecting Finland and Germany, was severed on the morning of Nov. 18.
The Yi Peng 3 remains where it has been anchored for more than three weeks - the Kattegat Strait off the coast of Denmark and Sweden, about 60 miles northwest of Copenhagen.
According to the latest update from Marine Traffic, German and Danish coast guard vessels are stationed near the Yi Peng 3. Earlier this week, a Swedish coast guard vessel tracking the Yi Peng 3 left the area.
“Since the situation has stabilized for a while, we are relocating our resources elsewhere to carry out other tasks,” said Swedish Coast Guard spokesman Matthias Lindholm.
There is no limit to how long ships like the Yi Peng 3 can stay at sea, Lindholm said. If the captain so desires, additional supplies can be provided to the crew on the Chinese ship.
