Swedish Report Fails to Find Evidence of Sabotage by Chinese Bulker

The Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board released the details of its observations aboard a Chinese bulker accused of damaging undersea cables saying it cannot determine sabotage. The agency participated in the ongoing efforts to investigate the Yi Peng 3 (75,121 dwt bulker registered in China) which was linked to the damage to two undersea communications cables.

The government agency that investigates accidents and incidents states that it “cannot be determined with certainty whether a Chinese ship intentionally damaged data cables in the Baltic Sea in November 2024.” It however also notes that its assessment does not prevent the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office from conducting a preliminary investigation into a suspected crime and that law enforcement authorities in several affected states are conducting criminal investigations into the incident.

In an 18-page presentation (online in Swedish) the board details its observations aboard the vessel. It however notes the limitations it was working under saying that the flag state normally leads the investigation and that the Chinese limited its access. They were not given an opportunity to access electronic evidence such as the surveillance images from the Voyage Data Recorder and limited crew interviews with interpreters and authorities present in the room.

The board concludes that there are “two alternative scenarios for the incident, one of which is that the ship deliberately released the anchor to cause damage to the bottom infrastructure during the voyage in the Baltic Sea. … The other alternative is that the anchor came loose because it was poorly secured or not at all.”

The crew asserted during the interviews that the release of the anchor was unintentional. Investigators pointed out that the vessel dragged its port anchor for 1.5 days or approximately 180 nautical miles. Among the points they highlight supporting a possible accidental release is weather conditions, which according to the logs on the ship were slightly worse than the Swedish authorities had believed. In an oncoming sea the report notes with extra force from the ship’s speed and bow hitting the sea, “could be sufficient to cause the anchor to start running out.”

They note the ship did not slow down saying it would have been natural to reduce speed to prevent risking damage to the ship or endangering the crew during the release. They also determined the anchor and a section of chain hit the seafloor leaving a mark. It then dragged and bounced across the floor.

During the examination of the ship, they noted a number of conditions such as the lack of marks on the windlass to indicate the brake had been applied. They could not determine if the anchor had been fully secured after the vessel departed Russia, but also noted a lack of damage to elements that might have been expected if the anchor broke free. They also noted that elements such as equipment covers might have been changed before they were permitted to board the ship.

It is not the first time the authorities have failed to find specific evidence of sabotage after the series of incidents in the Baltic region. In February 2025, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office released the Navibulgar bulker Vezhen also saying it could not find evidence of sabotage. A commercial fishing trawler was also detained after another incident but released after only a few hours.

Baltic nations remain on high alert after a series of incidents and were successful in getting NATO to increase its assets in the region. Patrols have been increased while the nations plot new steps to safeguard their undersea infrastructure which they believe has become a target in a new style of war.