According to European law enforcement officials and diplomats, the Chinese government reportedly permitted European investigators to board the ship suspected of sabotaging two critical data cables in the Baltic Sea with the condition that they be accompanied by Chinese officials and after weeks of confidential discussions.
After weeks of intense covert diplomacy, Beijing has granted investigators permission to access the Chinese-registered bulk carrier, the Ying Peng 3, which has been encircled by coast guard vessels and North Atlantic Treaty Organization warships since the end of November., according to officials.
According to these officials, the German and Chinese foreign ministries were the primary parties involved in the negotiations regarding the ship, which were conducted in the context of an international investigation that included Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
On Thursday, investigators from China, the four European countries, and Russia boarded the 74-foot-long, 105-foot-wide vessel, which has been anchored in the Kattegat Strait for the past month.
The vessel is currently laden with Russian fertilizer.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, informed reporters on Thursday that Denmark has been hosting nearly two dozen investigators from four countries since Monday as they prepared to board the ship.
He stated that the ship would be permitted to continue its voyage upon the conclusion of the investigation.
A person who was present during the investigation reported that Germany’s investigators, who were led by a senior federal police official, spent nearly six hours on board.
Dieter Roman, the superintendent of the federal police, expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for facilitating the investigation.
The Swedish police have stated that they will not conduct any investigative actions on the vessel and will instead function as observers.
Officials described the intense multilateral negotiations regarding a privately owned ship as unprecedented, as the detention of commercial vessels is rarely permissible under international maritime law.
The European governments that have effectively detained the ship have been known to rigorously uphold freedom of navigation and have previously criticized China for disrupting shipping lanes around its territorial waters.
Investigators are investigating whether the captain of Yi Peng 3, which departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was influenced by Russian intelligence to execute the sabotage.
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