Chinese ship allegedly tied to severed Baltic cables sets sail
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A Chinese ship linked to the recent severing of two undersea cables and anchored off Denmark's coast since November 19, departed Saturday, Sweden's coast guard said.
Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.
Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship -- the Yi Peng 3 -- which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.
The Yi Peng 3 has remained anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark since November 19.
Ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi-Peng 3 steaming north out of the strait on Saturday and Sweden's coast guard confirmed that the vessel had lifted anchor.
"She has reported that she is heading for Egypt and Port Said," Hanna Buhler, duty officer at the Swedish Coast Guard told AFP, adding that they would continue to monitor the ship.
On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited aboard for an investigation led by China.
A Danish representative also accompanied the group as Denmark had served a "facilitating role" by hosting meetings between the countries at the Danish foreign ministry earlier in the week, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish media.
"Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role," Swedish police said in a statement Thursday.
European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has rejected the comments as "absurd" and "laughable".
Sweden in late November requested China's cooperation in the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there was no "accusation" of any sort.
Early on November 17, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged.
The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden's Oland island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) from Helsinki.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.