Comment by jacknews

The last time there was cable and gas pipe damage in the Baltic, it took about two weeks for the investigators to do their thing and hold a press briefing. Some details ("mechanical damage, doesn't look like an explosion") had been published before, but most of the investigation results were publicized all at once.

What is publicly known this time: when and where the cables were cut (locations approximately, times accurately), and that there's a Chinese ship (Yi Peng 3) that was followed by Danish navy vessels, and the ship has been anchored for a week with constant guard from German and Danish (and possibly Swedish) navy.

There's a video[1] by a Finnish sea captain with MarineTraffic history access going over the track of YP3. Since it's in Finnish, a brief summary (or try your luck with auto-translation):

1) The ship sets off with a speed of 9-10 knots, but then slows down to 5-6 knots for 400 km or so, before returning to 9-10 knots. While weather could be a factor, other ships in the area experience no slowdowns. 2) The ship crosses the cables right around the reported break times. 3) There is an additional slowdown to 3-4 knots near a known underwater sand ridge. 4) The ships heading jumps around a bit; again, the other ships do not do this. 5) There is a missing portion in AIS data; however, this is seen with other ships as well.

Now, this is all circumstantial evidence, but is consistent with dragging the anchor on the seafloor for an extended period of time. Calling it sabotage would require establishing malicious intent, of course.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB-vEp3wr-0

That conclusion probably takes some time. Even if they found some evidence now, we're unlikely to hear about it until the investigations are wrapped up. And there are multiple criminal investigations in at least 3 countries, so it won't be this year.

The ship went over 2 cables and dragged its anchor 100 miles.

They knew what they were doing.

Don't try and play coy ruskie.