Intensive investigation

Submarine cable sabotaged: Finnish coast guard on site

The Finnish patrol vessel Turva has reached the site of the suspected sabotage.

(Bild: CC BY-SA 2.0 – JOUNI SAARISTO – flickr.com/photos/141806384@N07/31926343903)

A Finnish coast guard vessel has arrived at the damaged site of the C-Lion1 undersea data cable between Germany and Finland. It is assisting Germany and Sweden with investigations into the suspected sabotage of the communications infrastructure.

The ship "Turva" is providing assistance to the Swedish coast guard and supporting the underwater investigations in the southern Baltic Sea, the Finnish coast guard announced on Sunday. The German Federal Police ship "Bamberg" is also on the scene.

C-Lion1 and another cable running between Sweden and Lithuania were damaged at short intervals about a week ago. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius quickly spoke of sabotage. Swedish investigators are also looking into the suspicion of sabotage.

German ship also on site
According to reports, a Chinese freighter named "Yi Peng 3" has become the focus of investigators' interest. On its way from a Russian oil port, the ship is said to have been traveling near the affected areas at the time of the damage. It is now anchored in the Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden.

It is still unclear whether the freighter has been detained by the Danish navy. The Danish Defense Command merely stated that they were present in the vicinity of the "Yi Peng 3". The Swedish Coast Guard also confirmed at the weekend that one of its ships was in the vicinity. According to a ship radar website, the German ship "Bad Düben" was also on site.

According to security experts, everything points to the "Yi Peng 3"
Officially, no concrete accusations have yet been made against the "Yi Peng 3". However, according to Danish security expert Jacob Kaarsbo, everything points to the Chinese ship being responsible for the damage. According to the Swedish news agency TT, it had come from a Russian port and had slowed down where the damage occurred.

He assumed that the Danish authorities were considering boarding the ship, Kaarsbo added. However, he does not believe that China is behind the sabotage. It is more likely that Russia leased the ship.

Cables cross east of Gotland
C-Lion1 is an 1173-kilometre-long "data highway" on the seabed that connects Central Europe and data centers in Northern Europe. The cable was put into operation in 2016. According to the operating company Cinia, the repair work should begin on Monday at the latest. The work is expected to be completed by the end of November, according to a statement from the company.

The Arelion communication cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania was also damaged. This cable is said to be quite old and has experienced failures in the past, which are usually related to shipping faults. What is suspicious this time, however, is that this cable and C-Lion1 cross at a point east of Gotland.