Danish officials could board a Chinese vessel suspected of damaging two communication cables in the Baltic Sea to shed more light on the incident, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported, citing Estonian maritime law expert Alexander Lott.
“Danish authorities should take measures that Finland and Estonia failed to implement in the Balticconnector gas pipeline incident,” Alexander Lott said in a video interview with Finnish broadcaster Yle.
According to Lott, Danish officials should act more boldly, despite the legal complexities surrounding the damage to communication cables between Finland and Germany, and Lithuania and Sweden.
Lott noted that Danish authorities are likely to face difficulties in establishing a legal basis for boarding the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, conducting a search or detaining the vessel. He added that Denmark has so far taken a cautious approach in interpreting maritime law.
“[However,] I believe legal enforcement measures against the Chinese vessel are possible,” said Lott, a researcher at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea at Tromsø University.
More read: ERR.EE