Authorities believe the Chinese ship that sabotaged a Baltic Sea undersea cable dragged its anchor for 100 miles

European investigators are still trying to clarify details surrounding the destruction of a submarine cabling system crossing the Baltic Sea that was damaged by a Chinese vessel in mid-November.

The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese merchant vessel, is in the custody of European authorities. It is Sweden that is leading the investigation following the destruction of the underwater fiber optic infrastructure. The vessel left a Russian port and headed for Egypt loaded with fertilizer.

It is believed that during its journey through the Baltic Sea, it was dragging its anchor for more than 100 miles, which caused the damage to the wiring on the seabed. This detail was revealed by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, which cited sources close to the investigation.

The cable linked Lithuania to Sweden. Between Nov. 17 and 18, the Yi Peng 3 was sailing in the direction of the cable through the Baltic Sea. At one point, it allegedly dropped its anchor without interrupting its course, although this would have significantly slowed its speed. Along its course, the Yi Peng 3 stopped emitting its automatic identification signal, according to information that was available to investigators.

On its course, the Yi Peng 3 severed as many as two different lengths of underwater cabling, before pulling up its anchor again and continuing on. It was then intercepted by Danish naval vessels, which led it into the Kattegat Strait.

The Yi Peng 3 is still being escorted by Danish warships, which are cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The vessel's Chinese owner, Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is also cooperating with the investigation and has allowed the vessel to be detained in international waters, according to people familiar with the investigation. The incident occurred in Swedish waters.

Russian-led sabotage

With this detail, the hypothesis of deliberate sabotage and possibly commanded by Russian intelligence, who would have convinced or acted in collusion of the merchant ship's crew, is reinforced. This investigation is not the only one trying to find out if there is a pattern of Russia sabotaging European infrastructure.

Just this month, European Union authorities are investigating a plane crash against a DHL transport company aircraft in which a Spanish operator was killed in Lithuania. Prior to this incident, a Russian plot was uncovered to send altered devices with small explosive charges to attack commercial cargo flights bound for the United States.

"It is extremely unlikely that the captain would not have realized that his ship was falling and dragging anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting wires along the way," a person in charge of the case told WSJ.

Baltic, Eastern and Northern European states intend to increase sanctions on Russia

Meanwhile, the Baltic states, Nordic countries and Poland are ready to expand sanctions against Russia and those who support its invasion of Ukraine, those countries said Wednesday at a summit in Sweden.

"Together with our allies, we are committed to strengthen our deterrence and defense ... and to expand sanctions against Russia, as well as against those who enable Russia's aggression, thus threatening our common security," Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Sweden said in a joint statement.