Sabotage Drama Moves into Danish Waters.

Nordic Authorities eye a Chinese freighter as a vessel of interest

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German authorities reported that two data cables on the Baltic seafloor had been damaged and that sabotage is considered likely. The discovery was announced this past Monday. Within 24 hours, foreign affairs ministers from Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain made a joint announcement decrying the sheer volume of “unprecedented” hybrid attacks committed by Russia on European infrastructure.

“Moscow's escalating hybrid activities against NATO and EU countries are unprecedented in their variety and scope and pose a significant security risk.”

At the same time, Poland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, has also threatened to close all of Russia's consulates in Poland.

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Authorities in Sweden and Finland are launching a joint investigation. They are looking at all shipping traffic surrounding the area where the two undersea data cables were damaged.

The Swedish Minister for Civil Defence, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, spoke to TV4:

“We can ascertain that the defense forces and the coast guard, through their information about the situation at sea, have picked up vessel movements which correspond in time and space to the disruptions that have occurred.”

One of the damaged cables runs between Helsinki, Finland, and Rostock, Germany. It was damaged early Monday morning at around 3 am local time. The second cable runs between Sweden and Lithuania via the Swedish island of Gotland. It stopped working the day before, early Sunday morning.

These latest incidents come after a series of, among other things, suspicious fires across Europe, a recent attempt to put incendiary packages in the European mail system, and multiple arrests across the EU of people charged with espionage and intelligence gathering activities for a foreign government, usually Russia or China.

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A Chinese ship is considered a vessel of interest in the alleged sabotage of the two undersea data cables in the Baltic. The ship left the Russian port of Ust-Luga last week and over the weekend passed both areas where the cables were damaged. However, the ship had turned off its AIS signal, a marine navigation signal, so it was not possible to track its exact route during the time period in question. According to a report from Swedish national broadcaster SVT, Danish naval ships shadowed the Chinese vessel. Yin Peng 3, as it made its way out of the Baltic on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, the Danish Navy kept a tight lip. Danish Defense Staff Press Advisor Henrik Hall Mortensen:

“The defense has no comment regarding the Chinese ship. In general, it can be said that the Defense routinely follows ships that sail through Danish waters.”

However, the Yin Peng 3 has now been at anchor in the Kattegat Strait off the Danish coast near Grenå since Tuesday night, with Danish naval vessels in constant close proximity.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Danish Armed Forces released a terse statement after reports the ship had been detained.

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The Swedish navy has dispatched vessels to the two areas where the undersea cables were damaged. Among other things, special underwater drones have been deployed to gather more information and any evidence from the seafloor. A special Swedish naval salvage vessel, Belos, appears to be moving along the exact route taken by Yi Peng 3. The Belos specializes in examining the ocean floor around wreck sites.

Sweden’s Navy Spokesperson Jimmie Adamsson didn’t provide any specifics to SVT when asked about the movement of different Swedish ships.

“We have several units out there that collect this information for the police and prosecutors, and in parallel with this we provide them with our location picture of which ships were moving in the Baltic Sea at the relevant time and which were in the vicinity of these positions. Here we have a very good picture of the marine situation.”

Rough weather in the Baltic is also hampering efforts as it makes it difficult for surface vessels to operate.

The Swedish investigation is being led by State Prosecutor Henrik Söderman. All the evidence that is gathered, including the footage taken by underwater drones, will go directly to his team.

SVT is also reporting that authorities in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark are looking at every avenue available to them to keep the Chinese freighter in Nordic waters until more evidence is gathered.

Adamsson told SVT that this is a serious situation.

“This type of event has all the signs of hybrid warfare.”

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Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen chose his words carefully when asked about the situation by Danish national broadcaster, DR.

“The relevant Danish authorities are concerned with the case, and we are aware of the situation. I look at the matter very seriously. We do not know the extent of the incident yet or whether it is sabotage. But no matter what, it is a situation that requires a lot of attention.”

He then added that he cannot comment any further.

Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin also kept his cards close to his chest.

“There are ship movements that raise questions.”

Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis indicated this might be another case of a Chinese vessel dragging an anchor.

In October of 2023, a Chinese freighter called NewNew Polar Bear heavily damaged the Baltic connector gas pipeline and severed a nearby data cable because it was dragging its anchor. The ship refused to cooperate with Finnish authorities and fled Finland’s territorial waters. It has stayed in Chinese territorial waterways ever since.

It is worth noting that dragging anchors and other nefarious tactics near undersea infrastructure is fairly commonplace for Chinese vessels in the waterways around Taiwan, a practice that seems to have been exported to Europe.

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There have been some reports that Danish authorities have boarded the Chinese ship, but if they have, that is news to Swedish police, who were the ones who asked the Danish military to get involved.

Swedish Police Authority Manager Per Engström:

“If that is the case, it is information that is completely new to me.”

Swedish investigators are reportedly looking at several different vessels in their investigation but seem to be focusing more and more on Yi Peng 3.

“There is an interest in a specific ship; that ship has been in the vicinity of these two places at specific times when things have occurred. We have it under observation.”

Boarding a foreign vessel is not something done lightly, and Swedish authorities are cognizant that they need to have their ducks in a row before taking a step like that.

“Boarding is an act of violence, and we must have the legal prerequisites with us there; it must be obvious that a crime has taken place.”

Another complicating factor is the tricky world of maritime law. In particular, the ship’s exact location where it is at anchor. The Chinese vessel looks to be somewhere either over or very near to the border between Danish territorial waters and the exclusive Danish economic zone.

University of Southern Denmark Professor of Maritime Law Kristina Siig says the vessels exact location factors into what Danish authorities can and cannot do.

“If the ship is within 12 nautical miles of the Danish coast and thus in Danish territorial waters, then the ship could just as well be on Himmelbjerget. Within that border, there is full Danish jurisdiction, and Danish law applies. If the ship is in the Danish economic zone, then it could just as well be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in relation to the specific case.”

International law also guarantees the right of harmless passage; ships posing no security or environmental risk have the right of passage. However, again, where the ship is exactly located becomes important. If a ship is not moving and is at anchor, as the Chinese vessel is, and - if - it is in Danish territorial waters, then Danish authorities have the right to board it - if - it is judged to have done something illegal, and this is key, in Danish waters.

Siig says the ability of Danish forces to board the vessel becomes more tricky because the sabotage wasn’t in Danish waters. The cables were damaged in the exclusive Swedish economic zone.

“It is more uncertain because the suspected sabotage took place outside Danish waters. In any case, we need to get all the facts before we take the risk. On the other hand, the ship is no longer moving because it is at anchor, and therefore it means that we must board. But in this case I would formally contact the flag country before I would take any further action as an authority.”

Then the exact location of the Yi Peng 3 comes back into play again. If it is outside territorial waters then…

“We need permission from the flag country, which is China in this case. Because it is the flag country that decides whether we can board the ship. If China says no, and we do it anyway, we risk having to explain it in the Maritime Court in Hamburg, because the ship is in principle seen as a small piece of China.”