Chinese Ship Linked to Baltic Cable Damage Acted on Russian Intelligence Directives, Reports WSJ

A Chinese ship suspected of damaging telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea acted under orders from Russian intelligence, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The crew of the ship–the Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier–were reportedly directed by Russian intelligence to drag the anchor for some 100 miles in order to sever underwater telecommunication cables.

Damage to the Baltic telecommunication cables was first reported on November 18 by Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Lithuania. This particular network of cables is the only one that runs directly to Central Europe, and has been in use since 2016.

Upon inspection of the damaged cables, a submarine of the Swedish Navy reported that the damage appeared to be caused by “external mechanical force.”

The Russian Merkury corvette, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, had been spotted earlier in the area conducting what is assumed to be reconnaissance for the Yi Peng 3, gathering and relaying information to headquarters in Kaliningrad, reports the WSJ.

Changes in the usual routes of the Yi Peng 3 were initially recorded in the spring of 2024, when it began mooring at Russian ports, such as Murmansk and Ust-Luga, for unknown reasons. The last time this particular Chinese vessel had docked in Russian waters was in 2015, nearly 10 years ago.

Shortly afterwards, the Yi Peng 3’s crew were detained and interrogated by a ship of the Royal Danish Navy, where their actions in the vicinity of the telecommunication cables were examined. Subsequently, it was revealed that the captain of the Chinese ship was a Russian citizen, Alexander Stechentsev.

Russia has been actively using hybrid tactics in Europe, combining cyberattacks, disinformation, espionage, and physical sabotage to destabilize the region. Russia is believed to be linked to nearly 100 such incidents in Europe in 2024.

NATO is currently in the early stages of developing a fleet of unmanned vessels designed to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. The initiative follows a series of incidents involving damaged undersea cables in European waters.