Yi Peng 3 passing under the Great Belt Bridge on November 19, 2024. (Source: Storebælt Bridge webcam)
COPENHAGEN, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Swedish police said on Thursday they had boarded the Yi Peng 3 vessel, which is at the center of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, at the invitation of the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese bulk carrier is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fiber-optic cables in November, and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed the matter.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on the ship, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic data showed that the vessel’s coordinates corresponded to the time and place of the breaches.
Swedish police said on Thursday they participated on board the Yi Peng 3 as observers only, while Chinese authorities conducted investigations.
“In parallel, the preliminary investigation into sabotage in connection with two cable breaks in the Baltic Sea is continuing,” the police said in a statement.
The actions taken on board the ship on Thursday were not part of the Swedish-led preliminary investigation, the police added.
Danish authorities are facilitating the visit to the bulk carrier, which is anchored in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden, police said.
The Baltic Sea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged on Nov. 17-18, prompting German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was caused by sabotage.
The breaches happened in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone and Swedish prosecutors are leading the investigation on suspicion of possible sabotage.
Western intelligence officials from multiple countries have said they are confident the Chinese ship caused the cuts to both cables. But they have expressed different views on whether these were accidents or could have been deliberate.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has urged the ship to return to Sweden to aid the investigation.
The was no immediate response from the Chinese foreign ministry outside of business hours on Thursday.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen, reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing, editing by Terje Solsvik and Keith Weir)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 109,795 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
Spilled oil has washed up along “tens of kilometers” of the Russian Black Sea coast after two tankers were badly damaged in a storm at the weekend, a regional official said on Tuesday, and state media said a third ship was now in trouble.
Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 remains at anchor in international waters of Denmark’s Kattegat Strait a month after the C-Lion 1 and BCS East-West Interlink cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged.
A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said.
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 109,795 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
