DSections of two telecommunications cables, both located in Swedish and Baltic Sea waters, were cut on November 17 and 18. European officials suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin rejects.
Swedish and Finnish police have opened an investigation.
The Yi Peng 3, a bulk carrier built in 2001, sailed into the area of the cables around the time they were severed, according to ship tracking sites, although there is no indication it was involved in the cables. incidents.
The fact that the ship has remained anchored since Tuesday in the narrow Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark has raised questions.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied any responsibility in this matter.
The Danish navy said on Wednesday that it was tracking the ship. Sweden joined this monitoring on Saturday.
“We can confirm that we are on the scene… with one of our largest vessels, the KBV001 Poseidon,” Swedish Coast Guard communications manager Linnea Kappel told AFP.
The spokeswoman remained tight-lipped about the coast guard’s mission but said they were “helping the (Swedish) police and the prosecutor.”
“If the Yi Peng 3 weighs anchor we will follow it,” she added.
A Finnish coast guard vessel was to inspect the German-Finnish cable this weekend, the Finnish police also announced on Friday.
Tensions have increased in the Baltic Sea region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia had to be closed after being damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship. And in September 2022, a series of underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
