STOCKHOLM, November 25. /TASS/. Denmark and several other countries are holding talks with China as part of an investigation into the severed cables under the Baltic Sea as they are looking to determine whether the Chinese dry cargo ship Yi Peng 3 played any part, Swedish and Danish broadcasters reported.
The Chinese ship is currently anchored in international waters in the middle of the Kattegat Strait off the Bjare Peninsula, according to the broadcasters SVT and Danmarks radio. The Danish Navy has been monitoring the Yi Peng 3 for six days, with a Swedish and German coast guard vessels joining over the weekend.
In the meantime, permission has been requested from the Chinese authorities to question the crew as part of the Swedish investigation to establish whether the ship played a role in the purported sabotage attack. Lawyers from several Swedish government agencies are looking at the legality of various potential courses of action, including the option of searching the ship without China’s authorization. The investigation became interested in the Yi Peng 3 after an analysis of the ship's movements showed it was in close proximity to the areas of disruption at the time when the two cables suffered damage.
Two underwater cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea on November 17 and 18. One connected Germany and Finland, and the other Sweden and Lithuania. The first cable runs along the Nord Stream pipeline. Its failure was reported by the Finnish government-owned telecom operator Cinia. The damage to the second cable was later reported by the Swedish telecom company Telia. The Swedish Prosecutor's Office started a preliminary investigation into the cable disruption, classifying the incident as sabotage.