'N.K. cargo ship anchors, operates, cuts Baltic cable'''Russian owner?
Nov 28, 2024
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Earlier, undersea cables connecting Lithuania and Sweden, Finland and Germany were cut off, prompting Nordic countries to investigate.
They pointed to the Chinese cargo ship 'Yifeng 3'.
The cargo ship, built in 2001 and owned by Chinese company Ningbo Yifeng Shipping, was found to have been stopped in the Kathegat Strait between Denmark and southwest Sweden from the 17th to the 18th, according to ship tracking site Marinetetraffic.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited the report, the incident was strongly suspected of being caused by a Russian owner.
European investigators claimed that the Yifeng 3 bulk carrier, 225 meters long and 32 meters wide, carrying Russian fertilizer, was passing through Swedish waters at around 9 p.m. local time on the 17th when it turned off its radar system and lowered its anchor to cut the Swedish-Litanian cable.
The ship, which traveled about 180 kilometers six hours later, reportedly cut the German-Litanian cable.
The investigation report then reportedly began to move in a zigzag and then raised the anchor and continued sailing.
It is extremely unlikely that the captain lost speed for hours as the ship dropped and dragged its anchor, and did not notice the cable snapped along the way, a senior investigator pointed out.
Currently, a Danish naval vessel chased Yifeng 3 and forced it to dock in the Cathegat Strait, which connects the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Initial investigations revealed that the ship's anchor and hull were damaged in a manner consistent with the damage caused by deliberate drag.
A NATO ship is currently guarding the vessel, and Swedish and German authorities are conducting further investigations into the vessel and its crew through negotiations with the ship's owners.
bellho@sportschosun.com
