No evidence of cable sabotage from Chinese ship in the Baltic Sea

No evidence has been found that the Chinese ship “Yi Peng 3” intentionally destroyed data cables on the seabed, says Jonas Bäckstrand, who has led the investigation, to media outlet SVT.

“We can’t say for sure what happened on board,” he says.

Bäckstrand is acting director general of the Swedish National Accident Investigation Board.

In mid-November last year, two submarine cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea – one between Finland and Germany, the other between Sweden and Lithuania.

Suspicions were directed at Russia and the Chinese ship that was anchored in the Kattegat for several weeks.

According to Bäckstrand, the investigations show that the ship dragged the anchor behind it for a day and a half, but they cannot prove that this was intentional.

“There are many indications that it was an accident. But at the same time, it’s clear that if someone deliberately wants to do something, they will probably try to do it in a way that avoids detection,” he tells SVT.

English edit by Daniel Frank Christensen