NATO Ships Detain Chinese Tanker In Baltic. This photograph captured on November 26 by the U.S.'s Landsat satellites appears to show the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, left, accompanied by a Danish and German vessel in the Kattegat in the Baltic Sea. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey vs Sentinel Hub

The image, posted on the social media platform Bluesky and attributed to the U.S.'s Landsat satellites, purports to show the Chinese-flagged Yi Peng 3 about 45 miles from the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg. Two vessels, belonging to Germany and Denmark, are visible near the Chinese bulk carrier, according to an open-source intelligence account.

Newsweek could not independently verify the image and contacted the German and Danish Defense Ministries for comment via email. Between November 17 and 18, two undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea in under 24 hours. One cable linked Finland to Germany, while the other connected Sweden and Lithuania.

All four countries are members of NATO, sitting on the Baltic Sea. The vast majority of the countries perched around the sea belong to the alliance-with Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. The closely timed incidents raised concerns over sabotage. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said shortly after that "no one believes that these cables were cut accidentally."

Mystery still surrounds the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea in fall 2022, while an undersea cable linking Sweden to Estonia was damaged in October 2023. A gas pipeline connecting Estonia to Finland was also damaged in the same month, later blamed on a Chinese ship dragging its anchor. Media reports suggested a Chinese bulk carrier, identified as the Yi Peng 3, had passed close to both damaged cables at roughly the same time they were cut earlier this month.

The Danish military said on November 20 that it was "present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3," but it did not comment further. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters on Tuesday that Stockholm had been in "contact with the ship" and with Chinese authorities, requesting the vessel "move towards Swedish waters."

Kristersson said investigating authorities were "not making any accusations" but were seeking "clarity on what has happened." Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday that Beijing "maintains communication with relevant parties, including Denmark, through diplomatic channels."

Unseen but crucial, undersea cables prop up internet services, communications and many aspects of daily life that are often taken for granted.

About 99 percent of the world's data runs through undersea cables, but they are vulnerable to attack in what is known as hybrid warfare.