Authorities in Sweden and Finland are currently investigating a suspected sabotage incident that occurred earlier this week when two critical undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea severed within hours of each other. On Sunday and Monday, the disruption of the BCS East-West cable linking Lithuania and Sweden and the C-Lion1 cable connecting Finland to Germany sparked alarms across Europe.
Finnish and Swedish law enforcement agencies have launched criminal investigations looking into possible aggravated interference and sabotage. However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has dismissed the possibility of accidental damage, while Finland and Germany’s foreign ministers expressed concern over potential “hybrid warfare.” They pointed to Russia’s alleged history of sabotage in Europe, though no direct evidence has emerged as of yet.
Russian officials have rejected claims of involvement, calling them “absurd.” Despite months of suspicious movements by Russian vessels in European waters, the Kremlin has denied targeting undersea infrastructure. However, US officials proposed an alternative explanation, speculating that an anchor drag from a passing vessel could have caused the damage.
The Chinese-flagged bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which traversed both damaged cables during their interruptions, has garnered attention. En route from Russia’s Vistino port, the vessel had stopped briefly after the second disruption and is now anchored in international waters off Denmark and Sweden. Vessel tracking data indicates its route also passed over additional undersea infrastructure in the Baltic, including pipelines and power cables.
Chinese officials dismissed concerns about the vessel, stressing their commitment to protecting undersea infrastructure. Despite no sanctions against the ship or its owners, analysts linked the Yi Peng 3 to Ningbo YiPeng Shipping Co. Ltd. and noted its history of transporting Russian coal.
The incidents took place in the midst of growing anxiety over the security of Europe’s infrastructure due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Experts note that while accidents involving undersea cables are rare, they do occur. To minimize outages, most providers route services through multiple connections. Despite temporarily downlining its C-Lion1 cable between Helsinki and Rostock, Finnish telecom operator Cinia confirmed that rerouting traffic did not affect international communications. Similarly, reports indicate the successful restoration of traffic on the severed BCS East-West cable, which carried about a third of Lithuania’s internet capacity. Analysts speculate the limited impact might have been intentional, serving as a calculated signal of a warning shot that was meant to be damaging but not catastrophic, contrasting it with the potential fallout of cutting transatlantic cables. Repair efforts are underway, with Cinia estimating a timeline of five to 15 days to restore full functionality.
