A Chinese vessel suspected of damaging telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea acted under instructions from Russian intelligence, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Anonymous sources involved in the investigation reported that Russian intelligence directed the ship’s captain to use an anchor to damage the cables.

According to the newspaper, the Merkury corvette of the Russian Black Sea Fleet arrived in the Kattegat area and conducted reconnaissance for the Yi Peng 3 and transmitted classified information to the headquarters in Kaliningrad.

The WSJ notes that NATO is facing difficulties in responding to the events in the Baltic Sea, with authorities avoiding direct accusations of Russia to prevent panic.

Changes in the routes of the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 were recorded in the spring of 2024. It began calling at Russian ports, including Murmansk and Ust-Luga. Prior to that, the vessel had not visited Russia since 2015.

The reasons for the change of routes in the spring of 2024 remain unknown. It is unclear whether it is related to the start of cooperation with the Russian side.

Damage to cables in the Baltic Sea

As previously reported, the telecommunications cable was damaged on November 18, 2024, after the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 passed over it.

Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Lithuania reported damage to the cable.

Launched in 2016, this cable is the only submarine communication cable that runs directly to Central Europe.

Later, the vessel and its crew were detained by a Royal Danish Navy ship for interrogation and detailed examination of their course and actions in the vicinity of the telecommunications cables.

It was reported that the captain of the vessel is a Russian citizen, Alexander Stechentsev.

In October 2023, Militarnyi reported that a Chinese ship was suspected of damaging a gas pipeline and communication cables between Sweden, Finland, and Estonia.

The Swedish Navy’s submarine Belos examined the damaged cable, and the analysis showed that the damage was caused by “external mechanical force.”

The location and time of the damage coincide with the passage of the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear.