Operators have announced the repair of two telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea, which were damaged within Swedish territorial waters, amidst an investigation involving a Chinese vessel in the vicinity.
The undersea telecom cable that links Finland and Germany, severed on 18 November, has been restored and is “fully operational,” according to Finnish network operator Cinia.
“The repair was completed slightly ahead of schedule,” stated Cinia CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila.
The Arelion cable, connecting the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania, also sustained damage on 17 November.
The telecommunications cable being laid in the Baltic Sea off the shore of Helsinki in Finland in 2015
Authorities from Finland, Sweden, and Lithuania have formed a collaborative task force to investigate the damaged cables, with support from Eurojust, the European Union’s agency for criminal justice cooperation.
Attention has turned to a Chinese vessel – the Yi Peng 3 – which ship tracking data indicated passed over the cables around the time of the incidents; however, there is no evidence linking it to the damage.
Since 19 November, the Yi Peng 3 has remained docked in the Kattegat Strait, located between Sweden and Denmark.
China has expressed its “willingness to cooperate” with the ongoing investigation.
European officials suspect that the incidents may be acts of sabotage connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, however, has dismissed these allegations as “absurd” and “laughable.”
