Chinese ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables sets sail

A Chinese ship linked to the recent severing of two undersea cables and anchored off Denmark's coast since November 19, departed Saturday, Sweden's coast guard said.

Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.

Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship -- the Yi Peng 3 -- which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.

The Yi Peng 3 had been anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark.

Ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi-Peng 3 steaming north out of the strait on Saturday and Sweden's coast guard confirmed that the vessel had lifted anchor.

"She has reported that she is heading for Egypt and Port Said," Hanna Buhler, duty officer at the Swedish Coast Guard told AFP, adding that they would continue to monitor the ship.

On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited aboard for an investigation led by China.

A Danish representative also accompanied the group as Denmark had served a "facilitating role" by hosting meetings between the countries at the Danish foreign ministry earlier in the week, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had said.

"It is our expectation that once the inspection is completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail to its destination," Rasmussen said.

Swedish police on Thursday confirmed that they were going onboard the ship as observers.

"Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role," police said adding it would not be taking any "investigative measures".