Chinese Ship Suspected of Subsea Cable Sabotage Has a Twisted Anchor
A Chinese bulker happened to be maneuvering near two subsea cables at the time they were severed last weekend, and it appears to have a damaged anchor, according to Danish public radio outlet DR.
The bulker Yi Peng 3 was outbound from St. Petersburg in the Baltic during the timeframe of two back-to-back cable breaks on November 17-18. Its AIS record shows that it exhibited unusual course and speed changes at suspicious locations, attracting scrutiny from the authorities. "The ship has been near the two places at certain times when the incidents have taken place," police inspector Per Engstrom told SVT.
A Danish Navy patrol vessel intercepted and shadowed the Yi Peng 3 as it transited towards the Great Belt, and the bulker decided to interrupt its voyage to go to anchor in the Kattegat shortly after. Denmark stopped short of saying that the Yi Peng 3 had been detained, but a Danish patrol vessel has been monitoring it closely. Two other NATO vessels - German and Swedish - have joined to create a growing government flotilla near the Yi Peng 3.
Engstrom told SVT that the authorities would need evidence of a crime in Swedish waters to justify a detention or a boarding, and the available information does not yet rise to that standard.
"Everything points to the Chinese ship. It has slowed from 6.9 to 3.4 knots around the damaged cables and was in a Russian port before sailing out into the Baltic," former chief Danish defense intelligence analyst Jacob Kaarsbo told outlet TT over the weekend.
https://maritime-executive.com/article/chinese-ship-suspected-of-subsea-cable-sabotage-has-a-twisted-anchor