Tracking shows Chinese vessel in area when Baltic Sea communication cables damaged

The Danish military says it is staying close to a Chinese ship in the country’s waters amid an investigation into damage caused to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.

Sky News’ Data & Forensics unit has analysed marine tracking data that shows the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3 left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on 15 November. It passed close to both internet cables around the time each was damaged on Sunday and Monday.

The Danish navy has been following the Chinese-flagged carrier since Monday evening using at least five different patrol ships as it travelled through Denmark’s waters, according to data from MarineTraffic.

The Yi Peng 3 has now stopped in the Kattegat Sea area and is currently at anchor with a Danish navy ship anchored close by.

The Danish Armed Forces told Sky News they are “present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3”.

Sweden is “taking a hard look” at vessel Yi Peng 3 and the role it might have played, a source familiar with the investigation told the Financial Times.

According to the authorities, the first undersea internet cable ‘BCS’ was damaged around 8am UK time on Sunday 17 November and the second cable ‘C-Lion1’ was damaged at around 2am UK time on Monday 18 November.

A spokesperson for telecommunications company Telia Lithuania said the cause was “likely physical damage to the cable itself”.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority has launched a preliminary criminal investigation into the damaged cables on suspicion of possible sabotage.

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The country’s civil defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said its armed forces and coastguard had picked up ship movements corresponding with the damage to the cables.

A NATO official said “it is important that the facts are established. It is crucial that we’re working together to enhance the security of undersea infrastructure”.

Russia has said it is “absurd” to suggest it had any involvement in damage caused to two fibre-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea.

Yi Peng 3 is owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping based in eastern China. It owns one other Chinese-flagged bulk carrier.

Sky News has contacted Ningbo Yipeng for comment.

Baltic Sea infrastructure damaged

It is not the first time such infrastructure has been damaged in the Baltic Sea.

In September 2022, three Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany were destroyed seven months after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

No one took responsibility for the blasts and while some Western officials initially blamed Moscow, which the Kremlin denied, US and German media reported pro-Ukrainian actors may have been responsible.