The
Yi Peng 3 came under investigation for the 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions. It was identified at both scenes, and by the time it reached the
Great Belt strait, the
Royal Danish Navy started following the ship.
Yi Peng 3 |hide_header= |name=*
Leda (2001–2007) *
Avra (2007–2016) *
Yi Peng 3 (2016–present) |namesake= |registry=*
Majuro, (2001–2007) *
Piraeus, (2007–2015) *
Monrovia, (2015–2016) *
Ningbo, (2016–present) |ordered=January 2000 |builder=
Samho Heavy Industries (Samho,
Yeongam,
South Korea) |yard_number=1084 |laid_down=14 February 2001 |launched=18 May 2001 |completed=5 July 2001 |status=In service |identification=* * * |notes= }} |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=
Bulk carrier |tonnage=* * * |displacement= |length= |beam= |draught= |power=
MAN-B&W 6S60MC (11,160kW) |propulsion=Single shaft with fixed pitch propeller |speed= |capacity=7 cargo holds, |crew=24 |notes= }} }}
Yi Peng 3 (), originally named
Leda and later
Avra, is built by Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea in 2001. It has been owned since 2016 by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping Co., Ltd. in
Ningbo,
Zhejiang and was renamed to
Yi Peng 3.
Baltic Sea voyage, November 2024 The
Yi Peng 3 left the port of
Ust-Luga, Russia, on 15 November with a load of fertilizer, a week prior to the cables being damaged. Information about the destination of the ship offered by media outlets varied, the most frequently mentioned being
Port Said, Egypt, while the analysis provider
MarineTraffic, said the destination was unknown upon departure. On 17 November, between 1:30 a.m. (UTC) and 11:19 a.m. the ship passed the Swedish island of Gotland.
Yi Peng 3 crossed BCS East-West. At around 10 a.m., the Lithuanian telecom provider Telia in
Vilnius received a fault report: the connection between
Šventoji, Lithuania, and Gotland, Sweden had been severed. The ship crossed several times over the position of damage of the two cables.
Yi Peng 3 continued its journey south. After Gotland, the freighter switched off its
automatic identification system (AIS) signal for 7.5 hours. At 22:41 (UTC) the ship switched AIS back on and was located south of the Swedish island of Öland. The report also stated that, though Chinese authorities were cooperating, investigators believe that Russian intelligence had induced the vessel's Chinese captain to drag its anchor in order to cut the cable, referencing encrypted communication relayed to
Yi Peng 3 by Russian vessels on 21 November. On 19 November 2024, after passing the
Øresund, the ship contacted Danish authorities and requested to anchor in the
Kattegat at the position, where it stayed for the next weeks, outside Denmark's
Territorial waters but inside Denmark's economic zone. It was suspected of being involved in the sabotage. Therefore, investigators could have only boarded the vessel with Chinese approval. If
Yi Peng 3 had continued its voyage, a Danish navy expert explained in an interview on 6 December, there would have been no legal basis for stopping it. The detention of the Chinese vessel was the first enforcement action under the
Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables since the
Transatlantic cables incident of 1959. From 20 November 2024,
Yi Peng 3 was stationed at a sea position in the Kattegat
off anchor and has been guarded by the Royal Danish Navy. On 22 November, the
German Coast Guard sent and the
Swedish Coast Guard also sent
Poseidon, one of its largest ships, joining the Danish
patrol vessel in monitoring
Yi Peng 3 in Kattegat. On 22 November, a ship from the Finnish Coast Guard, the , a Swedish Coast Guard vessel and from the
German Federal Police arrived at the damaged site of the C-Lion1 undersea data cable to examine it using
remotely operated vehicles from the Swedish military. Press requests for updates with Danish, German and Swedish authorities did not produce any new findings, nor information was given with reference to ongoing investigations, as late as 15 December 2024, while
Yi Peng 3 remained at the same position. On 17 December 2024 the
Russian Navy Sea rescue tug
Yevgeniy Churov was reported to have approached the anchored
Yi Peng 3, passing it at very low speed and with its own AIS transmitter turned off. On 18 December 2024 Chinese authorities allowed German and Swedish investigators to board
Yi Peng 3, but the mission was postponed due to bad weather. Finally, on 19 December 14 Chinese, 9 Germans, 6 Swedes, 3 investigators from Finland and one Dane boarded the vessel. The Chinese investigation team, accompanied by the western observers, questioned the crew, inspected relevant pieces of equipment and reviewed documents. The operation lasted for five hours. The Chinese representatives did not permit access for Henrik Söderman, the Swedish public prosecutor, according to the Swedish authorities. The Swedish government had put pressure on Chinese authorities for the ship to move from international waters into Swedish territory to allow a full investigation. On 23 December, Swedish foreign minister
Maria Malmer Stenergard said that China had refused to permit Swedish prosecutors to board the vessel. On 21 December 2024 Danish authorities reported the ship had weighed anchor and continued its voyage. A
Swedish Coast Guard statement said the
Yi Peng 3 did so on its own initiative, with the given destination being
Port Said in Egypt. == Investigations ==