Cutting the cable
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Chinese Ship’s Crew Suspected of Deliberately Dragging Anchor for 100 Miles to Cut Baltic Cables
A Chinese commercial vessel that has been surrounded by European warships in international waters for a week is central to an investigation of suspected sabotage that threatens to test the limits of maritime law—and heighten tensions between Beijing and European capitals.
Investigators suspect that the crew of the Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier—225 meters long, 32 meters wide and loaded with Russian fertilizer—deliberately severed two critical data cables last week as its anchor was dragged along the Baltic seabed for over 100 miles.
Their probe now centers on whether the captain of the Chinese-owned ship, which departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was induced by Russian intelligence to carry out the sabotage. It would be the latest in a series of attacks on Europe’s critical infrastructure that law-enforcement and intelligence officials say have been orchestrated by Russia.
“It’s extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way,” said a senior European investigator involved in the case.
The ship’s Chinese owner, Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is cooperating with the investigation and has allowed the vessel to be stopped in international waters, according to people familiar with the probe. The company declined to comment.
The damage to undersea cables occurred in Swedish waters on Nov. 17-18, prompting that country’s authorities to open a sabotage investigation. Russia has denied wrongdoing.
Investigators have established that the ship dropped anchor but remained under way in Swedish waters on Nov. 17. The dragging anchor cut the first cable between Sweden and Lithuania shortly afterward, according to two people familiar with the investigation. The company that operates the cable in Lithuania said the outage took place at around 10 a.m. local time.
During that time, the ship’s transponder, which charts its movements on the so-called Automatic Identification System, shut down in what is known as a “dark incident” in marine traffic jargon. The ship then continued even as the dragging anchor greatly reduced its speed, according to satellite and other data reviewed by investigators.
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He's guilty.
At the very least, the Chinese company owes some folks a bunch of money.
If the Russians are partially culpable, a medium response should be some very hefty sanctions.
At the very worst, it's time for spy vs. spy, in a most serious way.
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He's guilty.
At the very least, the Chinese company owes some folks a bunch of money.
If the Russians are partially culpable, a medium response should be some very hefty sanctions.
At the very worst, it's time for spy vs. spy, in a most serious way.
@Jolly Yup
Interesting how the followed up on that.
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Interesting that the ship is basically surrounded by navy vessels and cannot go anywhere, but they cannot board it because of international law. Kind of a standoff at the moment.
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Interesting that the ship is basically surrounded by navy vessels and cannot go anywhere, but they cannot board it because of international law. Kind of a standoff at the moment.
@taiwan_girl said in Cutting the cable:
Interesting that the ship is basically surrounded by navy vessels and cannot go anywhere, but they cannot board it because of international law. Kind of a standoff at the moment.
I'm pretty sure international law frowns on dragging anchor to cut cables too.
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"Staggeringly reckless"
Britain's foreign spy chief accused Russia on Friday of waging a "staggeringly reckless campaign" of sabotage in Europe while also stepping up its nuclear sabre-rattling to scare other countries off from backing Ukraine.
Richard Moore, head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, said that any softening in support for Ukraine against Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies.
In what appeared a message to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and some European allies that have questioned continued support for Ukraine in the grinding war, Moore argued that Europe and its transatlantic partners must hold firm in the face of what he said was growing aggression.
"We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine," he said in a speech in Paris.
"The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous." -
I will refrain from comment on this incident and the near to certain probability of Russian involvement, until such time that the chief intelligence tsarina-in-waiting, the ever attractive, charming and notoriously clever, Tulsi Gabbard, weighs in with her studied and precise analysis.
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Russia is an asshole.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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