NATO warships surround Chinese ship suspected of sabotaging undersea internet cables — ship allegedly dragged anchor 100 miles

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Investigation is underway, but NATO cannot force the suspected ship to dock into one of its ports.

NATO flags
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Two undersea internet cables connecting Finland and Sweden to Central Europe were cut last week, with authorities suspecting sabotage. According to the Wall Street Journal, investigators suspect that the Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier traveling to Egypt from Russia and loaded with fertilizer, deliberately dropped its anchor in Swedish waters to sever the BCS East-West Interlink cable connecting it to Lithuania and then did it again the following day to damage the C-Lion1 cable between Finland and Germany. In total, they suspect the ship dragged its anchor for over 100 miles.

“It’s extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way,” said one of the investigators handling the probe. What’s more concerning is that the crew allegedly turned off the ship’s transponder during this time, making it impossible for the Automatic Identification System to track its movement. After the ship hit the second undersea cable, the investigators said that it zigzagged, raised its anchor, and continued underway.

Open maritime tracking sources put the Yi Peng 3 in international waters between Denmark and Sweden. However, it’s currently stopped and surrounded by NATO ships as the investigation is underway. According to one source, the ship’s anchor and hull have damage consistent with dragging and cable damage.

At the moment, Reuters said that Swedish authorities are talking with Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, the ship's owners, to sail it back into Swedish waters. However, since the Yi Peng 3 is anchored in international waters, NATO cannot force it to sail into any port under international maritime law for further investigation.

However, even though the Yi Peng 3 is a Chinese-flagged ship helmed by a Chinese crew, many Western authorities do not suspect Chinese involvement. Instead, they suspect Russian involvement in this act of sabotage. In a statement regarding the accusations, the Kremlin said that they are absurd and unsubstantiated. Furthermore, it added that Western officials did not make any comments when Ukraine destroyed the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022.

On the other hand, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, “I would like to reiterate China’s consistent support working with all countries to maintain the security of international submarine cables and other infrastructure in accordance with international law.”

The Wall Street Journal said that the Yi Peng 3 only operated in Chinese waters from 2019 through the first quarter of 2024. However, it changed its route after this, traveling to Russian ports carrying coal, fertilizer, and other cargo. Experts say that this isn’t definitive proof of Russian involvement, but it should be one of the things that investigators should look at, especially as this incident happened soon after the U.S. allowed Ukraine to strike targets within Russia using the long-range munitions it provided.

Jowi Morales
Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 3en88
    when Ukraine destroyed the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022.
    Sorry, but you can't just state that as if it's a fact without any proof when it's nothing more than an allegation. Is Tom's Hardware a political propaganda platform now? Seymour Hersh has described in detail how it was carried out by the US government and naturally the european allies have received an explanation as to why it had to be done, some of them assisting in the operation.
    Reply
  • punkncat
    3en88 said:
    Sorry, but you can't just state that as if it's a fact without any proof when it's nothing more than an allegation. Is Tom's Hardware a political propaganda platform now? Seymour Hersh has described in detail how it was carried out by the US government and naturally the european allies have received an explanation as to why it had to be done, some of them assisting in the operation.


    Perhaps perform a search before calling out "false" information. Current investigation and thought process puts this on a Ukraine national, not specifically the country.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Stream_pipelines_sabotage#:~:text=In%20August%202024%20media%20reported,sabotage%20the%20Nord%20Stream%20pipeline.
    From the above article:
    " In August 2024 media reported that in June German authorities issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national suspected of having used the sailing yacht Andromeda together with two others to sabotage the Nord Stream pipeline."
    Reply
  • punkncat
    The really cruddy part of this is that there is likely nothing going to come of the accusation or even proof. China is highly unlikely to pay attention to any ruling in "world court" (read as NATO) and the Russians are also unlikely to cop to it or pay for it to be repaired.
    Reply
  • 3en88
    @punkncatThis has got to be trolling at this point. Wikipedia is an "appeal to authority" platform, not a source of facts. It has never been. Are you seriously linking a Wikipedia page citing a media article about German authorities "suspecting"? You can find many more articles debunking that if you do want to perform a search.
    That isn't surprising at all, the German authorities will of course try to play their part and cover the US side by coming up with a cover story.
    Reply
  • punkncat
    3en88 said:
    @punkncatThis has got to be trolling at this point. Wikipedia is an "appeal to authority" platform, not a source of facts. It has never been. Are you seriously linking a Wikipedia page citing a media article about German authorities "suspecting"? You can find many more articles debunking that if you do want to perform a search.
    That isn't surprising at all, the German authorities will of course try to play their part and cover the US side by coming up with a cover story.


    Given the current state of media, particularly online, at the very LEAST Wikipedia requires supporting information for articles to stay up. This is far more than any three letter news you tune to.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    punkncat said:
    Perhaps perform a search before calling out "false" information.
    The complaint is valid, as the statement quoted in the article fits a typical pattern of "whataboutism".

    Aside from the questionable attribution, they are apples-and-organges situations where this situation involves the perp being cornered with a smoking gun, while the other situation took a while to unfold and for evidence to mount. So, you really can't compare the reactions as if the two situations were the same.

    In general, the authors need to be more careful when quoting these sources.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    punkncat said:
    The really cruddy part of this is that there is likely nothing going to come of the accusation or even proof. China is highly unlikely to pay attention to any ruling in "world court"
    The bare minimum standard is to name-and-shame. China is very protective of its public image. The knowledge they will be publicly outed could definitely hold some value in deterring repeat offenses.

    Also, establishing a pattern of behavior could form the basis for sanctions or other forms of retaliation. So, it's absolutely worth getting to the bottom of this incident and making sure all the facts of the case are well-publicized.
    Reply