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full screen A Chinese ship is followed for the second day in a row by the Danish fleet. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
The Danish navy is following a Chinese vessel for the second day in a row after damage was found to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.
The ship has passed close to the cables in recent days.
The Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 is in the Kattegatt on Wednesday, the search page Vesselfinder shows. Just next to it, a ship from the Danish navy can be seen that has been following Yi Peng 3 since Tuesday.
“The defense can confirm that we are on site in the area of the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3”, writes the Danish defense on X.
The Chinese ship has been followed by the navy on its way out of the Baltic Sea.
– If I had to guess, it is the ship that is suspected of having damaged the cables in the Baltic Sea, says Iben Bjørnsson, assistant professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy and, among other things, an expert in Danish and Nordic security policy.
From Russian port
During the weekend, two important data cables running between Finland and Germany and between Lithuania and Sweden were damaged. Authorities in Sweden and several other countries suspect sabotage and have started investigations.
Five days ago, the Yi Peng 3 left the port of the Russian city of Ust-Luga near Estonia and has since moved on its way out of the Baltic Sea. The route ran close to the cables, which were later found to be damaged.
Despite the fact that the ship is Chinese, it is Russia that is mainly brought up in the speculation about who wanted to damage the cables.
– As far as I understand, the ship has been in a Russian port, and it is part of a pattern when we have seen Russian interest in critical infrastructure on the seabed. You can say that it fits a Russian pattern rather than a Chinese one, says Iben Bjørnsson.
“More practical way”
That pattern, along with the fact that the ship came from a Russian port, leads to suspicions of Russian involvement.
– This is not something we know, this is what we believe. In principle, it could have acted on its own, or it could have been an accident. There are guesses that it is Russia, but they are not guesses that come out of nowhere.
She says she was surprised that suspicions appear to be directed at a Chinese ship, as China has so far stayed out of the conflict between Russia and the West.
– If it is this Chinese ship, then it is Chinese involvement in a more practical way than we have seen before.