Finnish probe links Chinese ship to damaged Baltic Sea gas pipeline

Finnish police said on Friday an examination of an anchor believed to have damaged a Baltic Sea gas pipeline showed that it likely belonged to a Chinese cargo ship linked to the case.

After a leak led to the shutdown of the pipeline between Finland and Estonia on October 8, Finnish authorities have been investigating the damage they said was caused by “external” activity, raising speculation of potential sabotage.

Authorities had previously said findings pointed to the Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear, and in late October said an anchor had been recovered from the seabed.

“At this stage we can state that the anchor lifted from the sea on 24 October 2023, may for some technical details be considered to belong to NewNew Polar Bear,” Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi of the Finnish police said in a statement.

An anchor recovered from a 3-metre deep mudhole where only a small part of it was showing when detected next to the damaged Balticconnector gas pipeline. Photo: NBI/Handout via Reuters

Lohi added that the “same type of paint has also been detected as in the damaged gas pipeline.”

Sweden’s government announced in mid-October that it received information that a telecommunications cable linking it to Estonia had also been damaged, without being able to identify the cause.

The cable is believed to have been damaged at the same time as the Balticconnector pipeline.

Estonia’s prosecutor general said on Friday the main lead they were following was that “damage to the telecom cables between Estonia and Finland and Estonia and Sweden is connected to the vessel NewNew Polar Bear flying the flag of Hong Kong”.

Finland says Hong Kong-flagged ship’s anchor breached underwater pipeline

“We prepared a legal assistance request to China so that the local law enforcement authorities would perform the procedural operations, primarily those connected to the vessel and its crew,” State Prosecutor Triinu Olev said in a statement.

China has previously said it is willing to provide necessary information on the incident in accordance with international law. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Nato stepped up its patrols in the Baltic Sea after the damage was reported.

It will take at least five months to repair the gas pipeline, its operator said in October, leaving Finland dependent on liquefied natural gas imports for the winter.

Natural gas accounts for around five per cent of Finland’s energy consumption, being mainly used in industry and combined heat and power production.

02:00

‘Powerful explosions’ caused Nord Stream leaks, Danish authorities say

Last year, underwater explosions that struck three of the four Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, cutting off a major supply route to Europe from Russia at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine.

The cause of that sabotage remains unknown.

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Finland says Hong Kong-flagged ship’s anchor breached underwater pipeline

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