Chinese ship leaves Denmark amid sabotage investigation
The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, suspected of sabotage in the Baltic Sea, which had been waiting for a month in international waters in Denmark's Kattegat Strait, departed on Saturday to continue its journey to its destination port in Egypt.
This information about the ship's departure, which the Danish navy had monitored, was confirmed to Danish television DR by the country's armed forces.
On Thursday, representatives of the Chinese authorities and observers from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Lithuania boarded the Yi Peng 3. Jonas Baeckstrand, head of the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority, who participated in the onboard activities, stated that they "managed to talk to the crew and check technical issues."
They did not allow the prosecutor to board
However, the Chinese side did not agree to the presence of a Swedish prosecutor leading the investigation into possible sabotage. Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs, called this "significant" in an interview with the TT agency.
The Stockholm prosecutor's office has been investigating since November into possible sabotage concerning the breaking of two telecommunications cables connecting Lithuania with Sweden in the Baltic Sea in mid-November. Authorities in Germany, Finland, and Lithuania have also initiated proceedings. Yi Peng 3, which sailed from one of the Russian ports, is suspected of damaging the cables.
Media have published photos of the vessel showing one of the raised anchors being damaged. This could have been the cause of snagging on the cables. At the end of November, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced that the government had made an official request to the Chinese authorities for cooperation on this matter and additionally demanded, among other things, that the ship enter Swedish territorial waters, which, however, did not happen.
