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It has been suggested that this article be merged into 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024.

Yi Peng 3 (Chinese: 伊鹏3; pinyin: Yī Péng Sān) originally named Leda and later Avra is a 2001 HD Hyundai Samho-built Chinese bulk carrier.

History, 2001-2024

The ship was built in 2001. It has been owned since 2016 by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping Co., Ltd. in Ningbo, Zhejiang and was renamed to Yi Peng 3.

Baltic Sea voyage, November 2024

The Yi Peng 3 left the port of Ust-Luga, Russia, on 15 November with a load of fertilizer, a week prior to the cables being damaged. The ship is under investigation for possibly cutting through the submarine cable that linked Sweden and Lithuania, and within twenty-four hours also severing the cable between Finland and Germany, which is the only cable linking the two countries. The Yi Peng 3 was identified at both scenes, and by the time it reached the Great Belt strait, the Royal Danish Navy started following the ship.

Investigators, quoted by The Wall Street Journal, suspected the crew of the ship had dropped one of its anchors while the engines still propelled the vessel forward, resulting in the anchor ploughing through the seabed over 100 miles (160 km) and cutting the cables. An anchor of the ship showed damage consistent with this idea. The report also stated that, though Chinese authorities were cooperating, Investigators believe that Russian intelligence had induced the vessel's Chinese captain to drag its anchor in order to cut the cable, referencing encrypted communication relayed to Yi Peng 3 by Russian vessels on 21 November.

As a response to the theory published in The Wall Street Journal, naval journalist Tom Sharpe argued in the The Daily Telegraph that this scenario was unlikely, since a normal anchor was too heavy and offered too much resistance to be dragged around at the seven knots speed Yi Peng 3 was travelling at the time, according to the Automatic identification system (AIS) data. He suggested a falsification of the AIS data, the use of a different device to cut the cables or a scenario in which the Yi Peng 3 had nothing to do with destroyed cables.

On 19 November 2024, after passing the Øresund, the ship contacted Danish authorities and requested to anchor in the Kattegat at the position, where it stayed for the next weeks, outside Denmark's Territorial waters but inside Denmark's economic zone. Therefore investigators can only board the vessel with Chinese approval. If Yi Peng 3 continues it´s voyage, a Danish navy expert explained in an interview on 6 December, there would be no legal basis for stopping it.

Press requests for updates with Danish, German and Swedish authorities did not produce any new findings or no information were given with reference to ongoing investigations, as late as 15 December 2024, while Yi Peng 3 remained at the same position.

On 17 December 2024 the Russian Navy Sea rescue tug Yevgeniy Churov was reported to have approached the anchored Yi Peng 3, passing it at very low speed and with it´s own AIS transmitter turned off.

On 18 December 2024 Chinese authorities allowed German and Swedish investigators to board Yi Peng 3, but the mission was postponed due to bad weather. Finally, on 19 December 14 Chinese, 9 Germans, 6 Swedes, 3 investigators from Finland and one Dane boarded the vessel. The Chinese investigation team, accompanied by the western observers, questioned the crew, inspected relevant pieces of equipment and reviewed documents. The operation lasted for 5 hours.

References

1. "Finnish authorities open probe into ruptured undersea cable between Finland and Germany". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. 20 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
2. Daftari, Amir; Feng, John (2024-11-27). "Chinese vessel allegedly drags anchor, severs undersea cable links". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
3. "Suspected sabotage by a Chinese vessel in the Baltic Sea speaks to a wider threat". Atlantic Council. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
4. Pancevski, Bojan. "Chinese Ship's Crew Suspected of Deliberately Dragging Anchor for 100 Miles to Cut Baltic Cables". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
5. ^ Pancevski, Bojan (December 15, 2024). "Brush With Russia in Baltic Points to New Flashpoint in NATO-Moscow Shadow War". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024. Investigators say they believe that its Chinese captain was induced by Russian intelligence to cut the cables with the ship's anchor.
6. Sharpe, Tom (2024-11-29). "A Chinese ship is in the frame for the latest seabed cable breaks. Here's what I think". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
7. "Yi Peng 3 kontaktede forsvarsenhed og bad om ankerplads i Kattegat" www.ikast-brandenyt.dk, 30 November 2024
8. Madsen, Alexander Schmücker (2024-12-06). "Mystisk kinesisk skib kræves undersøgt: Hvorfor flygter det ikke?". www.bt.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-12-19.
9. "Vom Kreml orchestrierte Sabotage an Unterseekabeln?: Das Rätsel um den chinesischen Frachter "Yi Peng 3" in der Ostsee". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
10. "„Unwahrscheinlich, dass wir Antworten finden": Rätsel um chinesischen Frachter Yi Peng 3 noch immer nicht gelöst". tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
11. "Efterretningskilder til avis: Mistænker, at russiske agenter har bestukket »Yi Peng 3«s kaptajn". berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
12. "Nach mutmaßlicher Kabel-Sabotage: Deutsche Ermittler an Bord der "Yi Peng 3"". NDR.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-12-19.

• Cargo ships of China
• November 2024 events
• 2001 ships