From the Daily Mail: "Chinese cargo ship deliberately severed two critical data cables in Baltic Sea by dragging anchor for 100 miles while off radar in attack 'orchestrated by the Kremlin', report claims." An excerpt:
European investigators told the newspaper that the massive Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier - 225 meters long, 32 meters wide and loaded with Russian fertilizer - turned off its radar system and dropped its anchor as it glided through Swedish waters to cut the Sweden-Lithuania cable at around 9pm local time on November 17.
Six hours later, the Ying Peng 3, owned and operated by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is alleged to have cut the Germany-Lithuania cable, having travelled around 110 miles. It then began zigzagging, before it raised its anchor and carried on sailing.
A senior investigator indicated that the ship's path must've been deliberate: '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.'
Danish Navy ships pursued the ship and forced it to anchor in the Kattegat Strait, which connects the Baltic and the North seas. An initial investigation revealed the ship's anchor and hull was damaged in a manner consistent with damage suffered from deliberate dragging.
NATO ships are now guarding the vessel, with Swedish and German authorities negotiating with the ship's owner to get access to the vessel and the ship's crew for further investigation.
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