Swedish prosecutor's office not authorized to investigate aboard Chinese cargo ship

The Swedish prosecutor was not authorized by China to carry out his investigation on board the Chinese cargo ship suspected of being involved in the rupture of two cables in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. Beijing, for its part, assured that it was ready to continue the “cooperation” on the role of this ship, which left the international waters of the Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark on Saturday, where it had been immobilized since November 19.

The two telecommunications cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, and suspicion quickly fell on a Chinese-flagged ship, the Yi Peng 3, which was above the area at the time of the incident, according to ship tracking websites.

“Our request to allow the Swedish prosecutor and the police (…) to take action in the preliminary investigation on board (the Yi Peng 3) remains unchanged”wrote Swedish Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard in a message to AFP.

“Technical evaluations”

On Thursday, Swedish police as well as the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) had been allowed on board the Yi Peng 3 to assist as“observers” to an inspection carried out by representatives of the Chinese authorities. The Swedish police had clarified that no investigation would be carried out on board and that these operations were not part of the Swedish judicial investigation.

“At the same time, I note that China has not responded (favorably) to our request to authorize the prosecutor to conduct a preliminary investigation on board”said Stenergard. The prosecutor, Henrik Söderman, confirmed to AFP on Monday that no measures within the framework of the Swedish judicial investigation could be taken on the ship, whether interrogations of members of the crew or technical investigations.

But the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority was able, within the strict framework of the Chinese investigation, to carry out its own investigations in parallel. “For example, talking to crew members and carrying out technical assessments”SHK general director John Ahlberk told AFP, without specifying whether any exchanges took place between his authority and the Swedish prosecutor's office.

Beijing confirmed that the ship had left the area. “The company owning the vessel, after a comprehensive assessment and consultations with relevant parties, has decided to resume operations”said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday, adding that “China informed the countries concerned in advance”.