Defective data cables:

Chinese freighter ordered to enter Swedish waters

The "Yi Peng 3" had been in the vicinity of the cables at around the time they were damaged.(Bild: APA/AP/Mikkel Berg Pedersen)

Following the damage to two data cables in the Baltic Sea, Sweden has asked a Chinese ship that has come under scrutiny to come to Swedish waters for the investigation. "We have been in contact with the ship and with China and have explained that we want the ship to sail into Swedish waters," said Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday.

Kristersson emphasized that this was not an "accusation". The Chinese ship "Yi Peng 3" was merely being asked to sail into Swedish waters "so that we can work together more easily to understand what happened". The "Yi Peng 3" had been in the vicinity of the cables at around the time they were damaged. China denied any responsibility. The freighter is currently anchored in the Kattegat in international waters between Denmark and Sweden.

Germany, Denmark and Sweden assume sabotage
In connection with the two incidents in the Baltic Sea, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius declared that "sabotage" must be assumed. The governments in Denmark and Sweden agreed with this view. The Kremlin rejected speculation that it could be sabotage in connection with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as "ridiculous" and "absurd".

On November 17 and 18, damage to a telecommunications cable between Germany and Finland as well as to a similar cable between Sweden and Lithuania became known within 48 hours. The "Yi Peng 3", built in 2001 and owned by the Chinese company Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, had been in the vicinity of the damaged Cinia C-Lion 1 cable running between Rostock and Helsinki, according to the ship tracking website Marinetraffic.

According to the Finnish technology group Cinia, the defect in the cable was discovered on November 18 in Swedish waters south of Öland. Damage to the Arelion submarine cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania had already been noticed the previous day, according to the Swedish telecommunications group Telia in Lithuania. The Swedish and Finnish police are investigating the matter.