For the past several days, northern European nations have been intensively investigating the damage to two underwater communication cables in the Baltic Sea. While Europeans suspect sabotage, the United States—despite its recent warnings about potential Russian hybrid attacks—has dismissed the incident as “an accident.”
The cables, BCS East-West and CLion1, which connect Finland and Germany, abruptly failed on 17–18 November. Against the backdrop of increasing Russian sabotage across Europe, local leaders have raised concerns about foul play. In a joint statement, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock underscored that “European security is endangered not only by Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine but also by hybrid warfare carried out by criminal actors.”
Meanwhile, CNN reports that U.S. officials believe the incident was accidental, despite Washington’s warnings in September about an increased risk of hybrid attacks from Moscow. According to the outlet, these concerns stemmed from “months of suspicious movements by Russian vessels in European waters and a significant strengthening of Russia’s specialised secret naval unit.”
Two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation stated that the damage to the cables connecting Germany and Finland was likely caused by an anchor dragging from a passing ship—an accident not unheard of. For example, in October 2023, the Hong Kong-registered vessel Newnew Polar Bear damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in a similar manner. However, the fact that both telecommunications cables were damaged within just a few hours raises suspicions.
Finland, Sweden, and Germany are investigating
According to the German broadcaster NDR, Germany’s federal police are supporting Finnish and Swedish authorities in investigating the potential sabotage. As reported by the ship-tracking portal marinetraffic.com, on the evening of Wednesday, 20 November, the federal police vessel Bamberg left the port of Rostock and set course for the eastern Baltic Sea. The vessel, equipped with a helipad and capable of housing special forces, is part of the ongoing investigation. NDR sought details about the operation, but the German police declined to comment.
On the evening of 19 November, the Danish Navy detained the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 on suspicion of damaging telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea. At the time, the vessel was in Denmark’s territorial waters. The following evening, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen confirmed that the Danish Navy had been monitoring the ship’s movements across the Baltic. However, according to NDR, he refused to comment on any potential actions against the ship or whether Denmark had communicated with Chinese authorities.
“It remains unclear what will happen to Yi Peng 3,” writes NDR. According to the ship-tracking portal marinetraffic.com, the 228-metre vessel is currently in Denmark’s territorial waters off the coast of East Jutland, near the town of Grenaa, where it is being guarded by Danish military ships.
Based on available information, Yi Peng 3 departed from Ust-Luga and was headed to Port Said, Egypt. Along the way, it likely severed two critical cables so severely that they stopped functioning. “The crew of the vessel did this despite the cables’ precise locations being clearly marked on the map, and even though a standard merchant crew should have exercised extra caution, especially after last year’s incident with the Newnew Polar Bear,” writes Foreign Policy columnist Elisabeth Braw.
It is also known that, according to documents from a Russian federal port, the captain of Yi Peng 3 was a Russian national, A.E. Stechenstsev.
On Thursday, 21 November, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its willingness to cooperate with Swedish and Finnish authorities in the investigation, as reported by NDR. Meanwhile, the Russians have dismissed all allegations as “absurd.”
