Chinese bulk carrier ship
Yi Peng 3 () originally named Leda and later Avra is a 2001-built Chinese bulk carrier.
History, 2001-2024.
The ship was built 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. The ship came under investigation for possibly cutting through the submarine cable that linked Sweden and Lithuania, and within twenty-four hours also severing the cable between Finland and Germany, which is the only cable linking the two countries. The "Yi Peng 3" was identified at both scenes, and by the time it reached the Great Belt strait, the Royal Danish Navy started following the ship.
Investigators, quoted by "The Wall Street Journal", suspected the crew of the ship had dropped one of its anchors while the engines still propelled the vessel forward, resulting in the anchor ploughing through the seabed over 100 miles (160 km) and cutting the cables. An anchor of the ship showed damage consistent with this idea. 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.
As a response to the theory published in "The Wall Street Journal", naval journalist Tom Sharpe argued in the "The Daily Telegraph" that this scenario was unlikely, since a normal anchor was too heavy and offered too much resistance to be dragged around at the seven knots speed "Yi Peng 3" was travelling at the time, according to the Automatic identification system (AIS) data. He suggested a falsification of the AIS data, the use of a different device to cut the cables or a scenario in which the "Yi Peng 3" had nothing to do with destroyed cables.
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. Therefore investigators can only board the vessel with Chinese approval. If "Yi Peng 3" continues its voyage, a Danish navy expert explained in an interview on 6 December, there would be no legal basis for stopping it.
Press requests for updates with Danish, German and Swedish authorities did not produce any new findings or no 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 5 hours. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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.
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