2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions
The incidents involving both cables occurred in close proximity of each other and near-simultaneously which prompted accusations from European government officials and NATO member states of hybrid warfare and sabotage as the cause of the damage.
Investigations are ongoing and since 19 November, the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 is under scrutiny due to its presence near the cables at the time of the incidents.
[2] The BCS East West Interlink is a 218 km (135 mi) long submarine data communication cable that runs through the Baltic Sea, built in 1997 by Alcatel and owned by Arelion.
[4][5] A year before, a similar undersea infrastructure disruption event, the Balticconnector incident, occurred when the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear dragged its anchor across the seabed, damaging a pipeline and submarine cables between Sweden and Estonia.
[6] Worldwide, about 200 undersea cables have been cut or disrupted annually as of 2024,[7] due most frequently to unintentional damage from fishing equipment or the anchors of ships.
[17] Cinia chief executive Ari-Jussi Knaapila stated that the company was in the process of conducting physical inspections at the site of the fault.
At around 10 a.m., the Lithuanian telecom provider Telia in Vilnius received a fault report: the connection between Šventoji, Lithuania, and Gotland, Sweden had been severed.
[28] The Danish public broadcaster DR sent a drone to survey the ship, showing images of how one of Yi Peng 3's anchors had become mangled – according to NZZ an indication that the freighter could have destroyed the cables.
[37] On 17 December 2024 the Russian Navy sea rescue tug Yevgeniy Churov[38] was reported to have approached the anchored Yi Peng 3, passing it at very low speed and with its own AIS transmitter turned off.
On 18 December 2024 Chinese authorities allowed German and Swedish investigators to board Yi Peng 3, but the mission was postponed due to bad weather.
The Chinese investigation team, accompanied by the Western observers, questioned the crew, inspected relevant pieces of equipment and reviewed documents.
Jonas Bäckstrand, Deputy Director General of the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority, noted that significant observations were made, though details remain undisclosed.
[26] Following the allegations of sabotage by Yi Peng 3, Sweden asked China to cooperate with the Swedish authorities on the case, according to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson who emphasized that there was no "accusation" of any sort.
Despite the presence of Danish, Swedish, and German patrols observing the vessel since 19 November, maritime law requires China's consent for any significant legal actions to be taken.
[46] On 19 December, representatives from Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Denmark were invited by Chinese authorities to board the vessel as observers during a Chinese-led investigation.
