EU vessels surround anchored Chinese ship after Baltic Sea cables are severed

For more than a week, a Chinese commercial ship has apparently been forced to anchor in the Baltic Sea, surrounded and monitored by naval and coast guard vessels from European countries as authorities attempt to unravel a maritime mystery.

The development arose after two undersea fiber-optic cables were severed, and investigators from a task force that includes Finland, Sweden and Lithuania are trying to determine if the ship’s crew intentionally cut the cables by dragging the ship’s anchor along the sea floor.

On Wednesday, Swedish police announced that the inquiry into the episode had concluded but that an investigation was ongoing. Sweden did not release any initial findings.

U.S. intelligence officials had assessed that the cables were not cut deliberately, though authorities in Europe say they have not been able to rule out sabotage.

“The preliminary investigation was initiated because it cannot be ruled out that the cables were deliberately damaged,” Per Engström, the superintendent of the Swedish police, said in a statement Wednesday. “The current classification of the crime is sabotage, though this may change.”

Denmark has said it is in “ongoing dialogue” with various countries, including China.

The mystery of the severed cable and who is to blame comes as Europe is increasingly on edge after a number of apparent sabotage operations, including arson attacks, vandalism and physical assaults. Many of these have been attributed to Russian intelligence operatives, including a plot that emerged last month, Western officials say, to put incendiary devices on cargo planes.

The case surrounding the commercial ship in the Baltic Sea is somewhat different. That ship — a bulk carrier called the Yi Peng 3 — travels under a Chinese flag. The ship, owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping Co. Ltd., set off from the Russian port of Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea on Nov. 15, according to Marine Traffic, a commercial ship tracking agency. From there, it traveled nearly the full length of the Baltic Sea.

The first cable connecting Lithuania and Sweden was cut on the morning of Nov. 17. The second one, connecting Finland and Germany, was cut the following morning. The damage disrupted some data transfers but did not cut internet connections in any of the countries, authorities said.

Now, investigators are sifting through analyses as ships from nearby countries are patrolling near the Chinese ship.

On Nov. 19, a Danish navy patrol ship followed and later stopped Yi Peng 3, ship tracking data show. Since then, the Chinese ship has been anchored at that position, in the Kattegat Strait, which connects the Baltic and the North seas, with a Danish patrol vessel nearby.

In the week since, tracking data show, German coast guard and warships, as well as more Danish naval vessels, have sailed to the vicinity. Most stayed for one or two days, then left and were replaced by other ships.

On Wednesday, satellite imagery and tracking data showed that the Chinese ship was flanked by a German coast guard and a Danish naval patrol ship, which were both about 1 mile away. In the evening, two German warships also sailed past the Yi Peng 3.

At one point on Wednesday morning, ship-tracking data show, a Danish naval vessel sailed past the Yi Peng 3 within about 100 feet of the ship.

According to a vessel database, a company called Win Enterprise Ship Management (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. manages Yi Peng 3’s safety protocols. Ningbo Yipeng is registered as the ship’s owner and manager. Attempts to reach Ningbo Yipeng were not successful late Wednesday.

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