Thread: Chinese Ship Suspected of Undersea Cable Sabotage Detained in 'NATO Lake'

Chinese vessel has been implicated in what has been described as the sabotage of undersea telecom cables in the Baltic Sea, a body of water dubbed the "NATO Lake" due to its location between alliance members.


International concern surrounds the cutting of the 730-mile C-Lion 1 cable connecting Finland and Germany and the 130-mile link between Sweden and Lithuania on Monday. A legal expert has told Newsweek that any investigation into the incidents "could span years" and could set precedents for future alleged incidents of underwater sabotage.


German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius described the incidents as "hybrid" actions, while his Swedish and Lithuanian counterparts said they were "deeply concerned."

None named any country, but the incidents come at a time of tension with Moscow, which has been accused of stoking tensions in the region with hybrid attacks, as the war it started in Ukraine continues to rage.


The U.K. newspaper Financial Times reported that investigators of the severed cables are looking into the movements of the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which was en route to Egypt's Port Said from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. Social media reports said that the vessel had a Russian captain, although this has not been independently confirmed.


The Yi Peng 3 had passed close to both cables around the time each was cut on Sunday and Monday, according to maritime tracking group Marine Traffic. The vessel was then followed by the Danish Navy, according to open-source intelligence analysts.


"Ship suspected of damaging comms cables x 2 in Baltic Sea has been detained by Danish Navy," posted OSINT account auonsson on Bluesky, which tracks vessels in the Baltic. The post said that it was "anchored just outside Danish territory with patrol/dive Y311 SØLØVEN vessel guarding her."

"Frigate HDMS HVIDBJØRNEN might be present too (no AIS but made speed toward situation.)" the post added.


"The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The Danish Defence currently has no further comments," Denmark's military said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).


Newsweek contacted the Danish navy and the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment.

Ben Knowles, a partner and global arbitration group chair at law firm Clyde & Co, told Newsweek that the incidents "raised significant legal implications."


"Like the Nord Stream incidents, there is likely to be a complex and lengthy investigation to determine the cause and identify those responsible," Knowles said, referring to the September 2022 gas pipelines between Russia and Germany destroyed by explosions whose cause has not yet been officially established.


"The investigation could span years, given all the technical, geopolitical, and jurisdictional factors involved," Knowles added. Once the cause and culpability are established, the focus will shift to allocating financial responsibility and addressing claims for damages.


"These could include insurance claims, compensation for service disruptions, and potential diplomatic or legal actions between nations," Knowles said. "The outcomes could set precedents for the handling of undersea infrastructure sabotage in an increasingly tense global environment," added the expert.

Finland and Sweden have opened investigations, but Helsinki has urged caution in not jumping to conclusions. The Finnish said China cooperated with a probe into an incident last year in which another Chinese damaged a Baltic gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, with neither country yet claiming it was intentional.


Tensions around alleged Russian actions in the Baltic Sea is acute given Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin's belligerent rhetoric toward NATO.


Media outlets in Norway have reported concerns at the presence of the Russian intelligence ship Yantar alongside its coast near critical seabed infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines and cables for internet and telecommunications.


Nikolai Patrushev, a close aide to Vladimir Putin, this month blamed the U.S. and the U.K. for the Nord Stream explosions and were planning others. In reporting Patrushev's comments to Kommersant, Telegram channel Crimean Wind said "such statements often sound like a cover for their own intentions."

https://www.newsweek.com/baltic-cabl...e-nato-1988689

If only we had a piper onboard?

Putin Saboteurs Could Be Behind Chinese Ship Cutting Undersea Data Cables With Anchors, Authorities Say

Investigators are looking into whether a Chinese ship that dragged its anchor for over 100 miles, severing critical data undersea data cables, did so on purpose and at the behest of Kremlin saboteurs. The 225-meter-long Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier was loaded with Russian fertilizer and, in recent months, dramatically altered its usual routes to take in ports in Vladimir Putin’s country, the Wall Street Journal reported. The hulking vessel departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on November 15 and, last week, ripped two data cables in the Baltic Sea in Swedish waters. The country, which joined NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opened a probe but a Kremlin spokesperson blasted the suggestion of Russian involvement as “absurd, unsubstantiated accusations”. NATO ships belonging to Denmark, Germany and Sweden now flank the vessel. “The fundamental change in the ship’s operating region to Russian ports after years operating solely in Chinese waters should be a key area of investigation,” Benjamin L. Schmitt, senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, said.

Putin Saboteurs Could Be Behind Chinese Ship Cutting Undersea Data Cables With Anchors, Authorities Say

China says it is ready to assist in severed cables probe after Sweden's request

China said on Friday (Nov 29) it was "willing to work" with a probe into the severing of two Baltic Sea cables linked to a Chinese ship, after Sweden asked for Beijing's cooperation with the investigation.


"China is willing to work with relevant countries to find out the truth," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

"Currently, China and Sweden are maintaining close communication on this issue," she added.


Sections of two telecom cables were cut on Nov 17 and Nov 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark.


Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship - the Yi Peng 3 - which ship tracking sites said had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut, although there is nothing to indicate that it was involved in the incidents.


The Yi Peng 3 has remained anchored in the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark since Nov 19.


"Sweden has ... sent a formal request to China to cooperate with Swedish authorities in order to create clarity on what has happened. That formal request was sent to China earlier today," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference on Thursday.


Denmark's navy said last week it was shadowing the vessel, which is in international waters. Sweden's coast guard joined it over the weekend.

China says it is ready to assist in severed cables probe after Sweden's request - CNA

Originally Posted by misskit

China says it is ready to assist in severed cables probe after Sweden's request

China said on Friday (Nov 29) it was "willing to work" with a probe into the severing of two Baltic Sea cables linked to a Chinese ship, after Sweden asked for Beijing's cooperation with the investigation.

"China is willing to work with relevant countries to find out the truth," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

Who the fuck do they think they're kidding?

Sweden has formally asked Beijing to help clarify what happened when two data cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the request has been made as one of the cables, which connects Sweden and Lithuania, came back online after its operator Arelion said it had been repaired.

The second cable runs from Finland to Germany and is expected to be working again in the next couple of days following repair work by its Finnish owner Cinia.
Both cables were damaged in Swedish waters in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November.
The China-flagged bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which is currently moored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark, was seen in the area at the time the cables were damaged.
Meanwhile, Sky News' Data & Forensics unit has analysed marine tracking data that shows Yi Peng 3 left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on 15 November. It passed close to both internet cables around the time each was ruptured.

Sweden asks China to help clarify what happened to damaged undersea cables | World News | Sky News