The Chinese-flagged vessel Yi Peng 3 began moving north on Saturday afternoon after having anchored since November, pending an investigation into possible involvement in the destruction of the cables.
Swedish police and accident investigators were on board as observers on Thursday when the vessel was inspected in the Kattegat by the Chinese accident investigation commission.
However, Chinese authorities denied prosecutor Henrik Söderman, who is leading the criminal investigation into the cables, permission to board.
"Is remarkable"
This is something that Malmer Stenergard (M) is critical of China for.
"It is something that the government fundamentally takes seriously," she writes in a statement, and continues:
"It is remarkable if the vessel leaves without the prosecutor, within the framework of a Swedish preliminary investigation into a crime, being given the opportunity to inspect the vessel and hear the crew."
The cable sabotage, which occurred on November 17-18, is being investigated as two cases of suspected sabotage.
Slipped anchor
According to the Foreign Minister, the government is closely following the development and is in contact with the relevant authorities, but she notes that it is the prosecutor who is leading the investigation:
"The government has great respect for the fact that the preliminary investigation is being conducted independently and is awaiting the result of it."
The police authorities in Finland, Sweden, and Lithuania have established a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the cause of the damage to the cables.
The vessel is suspected of having deliberately slipped its anchor 16 miles along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and thereby destroyed the data cables, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
