Baltic Sea Subsea Damage may have Occurred in January
26 at 0237 a.m. Finnish time (0037 GMT) and that the cause was still unknown.The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time.A Swedish prosecutor said on February 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage.The Vezhen passed the Sweden-Latvia cable at 0045 GMT on January 26, MarineTraffic data analysed by Reuters showed.Swedish police did not immediately respond to a request
Underwater Sabotage: A Baltic Sea Timeline
LLC FZ, seeking the release of the ship.NOVEMBER 2024: BALTIC TELECOM CABLESTwo undersea fiber-optic communications cables located more than 100 nautical miles (about 200 km) apart in the Baltic Sea were severed on November 17 and 18, raising suspicions of sabotage.Investigators zeroed in on Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic data showed that the ship's coordinates corresponded to the time and place of the breaches.China allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark on December 21 to board the Yi Peng 3 along with Chinese investigators, after
Another Baltic Undersea Cable Damaged
that two other vessels were also subject to investigation.Up to several thousand commercial vessels make their way through the Baltic Sea at any given time, and a number of them passed the broken cable on Sunday, data from the MarinTraffic ship tracking service showed.One such ship, the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen, was closely followed by a Swedish coast guard vessel on Sunday evening, MarineTraffic data showed, and the two were heading in toward the southern Swedish coastline.It was not immediately clear if the Vezhen, which passed the fibre optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday, was subject to investigation
Subsea Sabotage in the Baltic Sea - a Timeline for Perspective
;s Telia Lietuva, part of Swedish Telia Company. A 1,200-km cable connecting Helsinki to the German port of Rostock stopped working around 0200 GMT on Nov. 18, Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecoms company Cinia said.Investigators in the countries involved have zeroed in on Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic data showed that the ship's coordinates corresponded to the time and place of the breaches. China allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark on Dec. 21 to board
Struggles to Secure Baltic Sea Dominates NATO's 'Freezing Winds '24'
limited."We are a defensive alliance, so by conducting training and exercising, also in areas which are crucial with underwater infrastructure, we show presence and prevent rather than actively engage," Król said.CAUSES OF CABLE DAMAGE HARD TO PINPOINTSecurity sources say the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was responsible for severing the two undersea cables in Swedish economic waters between Nov. 17 and 18 by dragging its anchor on the seabed. As of Monday, it was stationary in Danish economic waters, being watched by NATO members'
VLSFO Oil Spill Remnants Haunt Mauritius Mangroves Three Years Later
Three years after bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius, spilling 1000 tons of a new type of marine fuel oil, Curtin University-led research has confirmed the oil is still present in an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest close to Ramsar conservation sites.Lead researcher Dr. Alan Scarlett, from Curtin’s WA Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Center in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of the oil found in the mangrove sediments was a near-perfect match for the Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) spilled by the
Sweden Seeks Return of Chinese Ship Linked to Baltic Sea Subsea Cable Sabotage
cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged in less than 24 hours on Nov. 17-18, raising suspicions of sabotage, countries and companies involved said.Denmark's military said soon afterwards that its vessels were staying close to Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which travelled through the Baltic Sea at the time and now sits idle in international waters but inside Denmark's exclusive economic zone.The breaches occurred in Sweden's exclusive economic zone, leading Swedish prosecutors to launch a preliminary investigation."From the
Wreck of WWII-era Cargo Ship Found in the Great Lakes
potential wreck. In 2023 GLSHS Director of Marine Operations, Darryl Ertel, Fountain and crew of the R/V David Boyd, towed a Marine Sonic Technology side-scan sonar over the anomaly and soon realized and it was in-fact a shipwreck. Later ROV dives positively identified the submerged hulk the 244-foot bulk carrier Arlington.On April 30, 1940, the Arlington left Port Arthur, Ontario fully loaded with wheat en route Owen Sound, Ontario. She was under command of Captain Fredrick “Tatey Bug” Burke, a seasoned veteran of the lakes. Dense fog greeted the Arlington and a larger freighter, the Collingwood
Malaysia Detains Chinese Ship Linked to Suspected Illegal Salvage of British WW2 Wrecks
Malaysia's maritime authorities on Monday said cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been found on a China-registered bulk carrier ship detained at the weekend for anchoring in its waters without permission.The discovery comes amid reports this month that scavengers have targeted two British World War Two wrecks off the coast of Malaysia - the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse - which were sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1941, just three days after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Following reports of the illegal salvage activity, Britain's National Museum
February 2025
