Chinese vessel detained and suspected of Baltic Sea cable destruction

While Russia is suspected of severing two communication cable lines between NATO allies in the Baltic Sea by the West, a Chinese vessel was also implicated in the incident on Wednesday, Nov. 20, as Danish authorities detained the vessel. The cuts in the Baltic Sea happened on Sunday, Nov. 17 and on Monday, Nov. 18.

The cuts happened along the C-Lion-3 cable that connects Finland and Germany and another 130-mile connecting communications between Sweden and Lithuania.

Investigators are reportedly looking into the movements of a Chinese bulk carrier that traveled to Egypt from a Russian port. According to tracking data, the ship passed close to both telecommunication cables around the time each was severed on Sunday and on Monday.

The Danish Navy reportedly shadowed the vessel, eventually detaining it. Danish officials said that they suspect the ship is responsible for the damage to the cables but provided no further comment.

Meanwhile, social media reports claimed the ship had a Russian captain, but the captain’s identity has not been independently verified.

A separate Chinese-registered ship reportedly cut the BaltiConnector Pipeline in October of 2023 and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia with its anchor. Officials familiar with the investigation say Russian sailors were aboard that vessel at the time of the incident.

In regard to the latest cuttings, German officials stopped short of blaming a particular country on Tuesday, Nov. 19, but said the latest cuttings appear to be no accident.

Lithuanian commented on the latest cuttings, noting that the country was “deeply concerned,” but also did not point blame at a particular country.

Other Western officials previously said that there were indications Moscow was behind the cuts though no specific details were released.

The Kremlin denied Russia’s involvement on Wednesday, calling the accusations “quite absurd.”