--- title: "Danish Navy Shadows Chinese Cargo Ship After Baltic Sea Cable Damage" description: "The Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, is now anchored, with a Royal Danish Navy patrol boat alongside it. The Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, is now anchored, with a Royal Danish Navy patrol boat alongside it." date: "2024-11-20" modified: "2024-11-20" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick" url: "https://www.twz.com/news-features/danish-navy-shadows-chinese-cargo-ship-after-baltic-sea-cable-damage" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Baltic Sea" - "China" - "Europe" - "Germany" - "Indo-Pacific" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Northern Europe" - "Patrol Boats" - "Sea" tags: - "China" - "denmark" --- # Danish Navy Shadows Chinese Cargo Ship After Baltic Sea Cable Damage ![The Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 (R) is anchored and being monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessels in the sea of Kattegat, near the City og Granaa in Jutland, Denmark, on November 20, 2024. Denmark's navy said on November 20, 2024 it was shadowing a Chinese cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea, a day after Finland and Sweden opened investigations into suspected sabotage of two severed undersea telecoms cables. "The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3," the military wrote in an email to AFP, adding that it would make no further comment for the time-being.]() *Photo by MIKKEL BERG PEDERSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images* Denmark has confirmed it’s monitoring the Chinese cargo vessel at the center of allegations surrounding recent damage to two communication cables in the Baltic Sea. Yesterday, Germany said that the damage was most likely the result of sabotage, while the Chinese ship, the *Yi Peng 3*, was identified as operating in the vicinity of the cables when the incidents occurred. You can read our previous reporting [here](). In a statement on X today, the Danish Armed Forces said: “We are present in the area near the Chinese ship *Yi Peng 3*. The Danish Defense currently has no further comments.” https://www.twitter.com/forsvaretdk/status/1859195509866381402 On MarineTraffic, an aggregator that provides real-time information on ship movements, the *Yi Peng 3* can be seen anchored in the Kattegat as of 1:00 p.m. GMT today, having exited the Baltic via the Danish Straits. In close proximity to the Chinese cargo ship was the *Rota* (P525), a Royal Danish Navy *Diana* class patrol boat, also anchored. ![The Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored and being monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessel (unseen) in the sea of Kattegat, near the City og Granaa in Jutland, Denmark, on November 20, 2024. Denmark's navy said on November 20, 2024 it was shadowing a Chinese cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea, a day after Finland and Sweden opened investigations into suspected sabotage of two severed undersea telecoms cables. "The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3," the military wrote in an email to AFP, adding that it would make no further comment for the time-being. (Photo by Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (Photo by MIKKEL BERG PEDERSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)]() *The Chinese bulk carrier *Yi Peng 3* is anchored and monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessel (both vessels are seen in the photo at the top of this story) in the sea of Kattegat, on Nov. 20, 2024. *Photo by MIKKEL BERG PEDERSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images** ![]() *A screencap from MarineTraffic shows the approximate location of the *Yi Peng 3* anchored in the Kattegat as of 1:00 p.m. GMT today. *MarineTraffic screencap** Another Royal Danish Navy warship, the *Thetis* class ocean patrol vessel *Hvidbjørnen*, was also noted heading toward the scene, underway in the northern part of the Kattegat earlier today. https://bsky.app/profile/bengts.bsky.social/post/3lbdr7rnn4k2k The Danish Armed Forces have so far not said whether or not a boarding party has been put on the *Yi Peng 3*. ![]() *A screencap from MarineTraffic shows the *Yi Peng 3* anchored in the Kattegat as of 1:00 p.m. GMT. The red dot to the right of the Chinese cargo ship is the Royal Danish *Rota* (P525) patrol boat. *MarineTraffic screencap** According to the [Polish website]() *Defence24.com*, the *Rota* first “detained” the Chinese bulk carrier yesterday evening, Nov. 19. At this point, the *Yi Peng 3* was in Danish territorial waters, sailing in the Danish Straits at the exit of the Great Belt. “After a few hours, another vessel HDMS *Søløven*, which is specialized for underwater work, reached both vessels,” the same report added. https://www.twitter.com/chrisschmitz/status/1858977331320410617 The Chinese vessel had departed the Russian port of Ust-Luga, in the Leningrad region, close to the Estonian border, on Nov. 15 and had been scheduled to sail to Port Said, Egypt, where it was originally due to arrive on Dec. 3. The *[Yi Peng 3]()* is 224 meters (735 feet) long, with a beam of 32 meters (105 feet) and it has a gross tonnage of 40,622 tons. As for the damaged cables, you can read more about the background of those incidents [in our previous report](). In summary, the first of these is the 135-mile-long BSC cable between the Swedish [island of Gotland]() and Lithuania, which was damaged around 8:00 a.m. GMT last Sunday. The second is C-Lion1, a 746-mile-long cable between Helsinki and the German port of Rostock, put out of action around 2:00 a.m. GMT on Monday. Both of these are fiber-optic communication cables, running along the Baltic seabed. ![This picture taken on October 12, 2015 shows the C-Lion1 submarine telecommunications cable being laid to the bottom of the Baltic Sea by cable laying ship "Ile de Brehat" off the shore of Helsinki, Finland. Germany and Finland said November 18, 2024 they were "deeply concerned" that an undersea telecommunications cable linking the countries had been severed and opened a probe, at a time of high tensions with Russia. "Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors," the countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement. sr/sea/js (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT (Photo by HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)]() *The C-Lion1 submarine telecommunications cable being laid to the bottom of the Baltic Sea by a cable-laying ship, off the shore of Helsinki, Finland, in October 2015. *Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT* HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA* ![ANKARA, TURKIYE - NOVEMBER 19: An infographic titled "Two undersea cables in Baltic Sea disrupted" created in Ankara, Turkiye on November 19, 2024. Two undersea communication cables, one linking Finland to continental Europe via Germany and another linking Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island, have been damaged. (Photo by Murat Usubali/Anadolu via Getty Images)]() *An infographic shows the approximate locations of the undersea cables that were damaged in the Baltic Sea in the last few days. *Photo by Murat Usubali/Anadolu via Getty Images* Anadolu* Already yesterday there were suggestions that the *Yi Peng 3* might somehow be involved in the incidents. Based on publicly available ship-tracking data, the *Yi Peng 3* appears to have passed overhead both of the cables around the same time incidents of damage were first reported. According to the [German newspaper]() *Kieler Nachrichten*, on Monday, when the damage to the C-Lion1 cable was confirmed, the *Yi Peng* “stopped, drifted, and sailed two circles in the sea area south of Öland for almost 90 minutes.” The Chinese cargo vessel was seen to slow down as it passed the cables, based on data gathered by [auonsson](), an open-source intelligence analyst. “The speed of cargo ship *Yi Peng 3* was affected negatively as she passed the two Baltic Sea cable breaks C-Lion 1 and BSC,” auonsson wrote on the social media platform Bluesky. “Before the incidents, she held normal speeds. After stopping and drifting for 70 minutes she again held normal speeds. By this time the two cables were broken.” https://bsky.app/profile/auonsson.bsky.social/post/3lbc5va7f722p “Headwinds could play a role in slowing *Yi Peng 3* down, but I don't believe this to be the case. The changes in speed are much more significant than the changes in wind speed,” auonsson added. https://bsky.app/profile/auonsson.bsky.social/post/3lbcblt4u7s2y So far, no official evidence has been presented that ties the *Yi Peng 3* to these incidents, although, as we shared previously, there is a notable precedent. In October last year, the Balticconnector gas pipeline running between Estonia and Finland was damaged. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation later identified the culprit as the Chinese container ship *Newnew Polar Bear*, which had dropped its anchor, dragging it along the seabed. ![The commanding officer of the Finnish Navy Toni Joutsia (L to R), lieutenant commander of the Finnish Border Guard Markus Paljakka, the detective inspector of the National Bureau of Investigation Risto Lohi and the Chief of National Bureau of Investigation Robin Lardot attend a joint press conference of the investigation of the possible attack on the Balticconnector gas line on October 8, 2023 between Finland and Estonia at the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation in Vantaa, Finland on October 24, 2023. The screen shows Finnish Border Guard's photo of a Hong Kong -registered cargo ship 'Newnew Polar Bear', which was spotted moving close to the Balticconnector gas line.Finnish police said a Chinese ship was the focus of their investigation into suspected sabotage of the Balticconnector pipeline. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT (Photo by HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)]() *A joint press conference for the investigation into the damage to the Balticconnector gas line on Oct. 8, 2023, between Finland and Estonia at the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation in Vantaa, Finland on Oct. 24, 2023. The screen shows the Chinese cargo ship *Newnew Polar Bear*, which was the focus of their investigation. *Photo by HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images* HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA* The *Newnew Polar Bear* had earlier been spotted with one of its anchors missing and the same type of paint on the anchor could be matched to that on the damaged pipeline. Chinese authorities later admitted that the *Newnew Polar Bear* was to blame but stated that it was an accident. However, the [rapid departure]() of the *Newnew Polar Bear* from the Baltic last October fueled suspicions that the pipeline damage might have been an act of sabotage. With that in mind, it would make sense for the Danish authorities to investigate the *Yi Peng 3* before it transits into international waters and continues its journey. https://bsky.app/profile/auonsson.bsky.social/post/3lbd3z3qtac2o For now, we will have to wait and see whether the *Yi Peng 3* is being examined for any signs of damage that might be consistent with snagging the two communications cables, but this would certainly seem like a possible line of inquiry for the Danes. If the *Yi Peng 3* is found to have been responsible for the damage, questions will very likely be asked about how that could have happened — especially since two cables in separate locations were affected. Moreover, with the precedent of the *Newnew Polar Bear* incident last year, there will likely be concerns that this could be evidence of some sort of broader, deliberate campaign in the highly strategic Baltic region. We will update this post if more information becomes available. *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()