Finnish authorities said that the damage to the underground Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea earlier this month was caused by an anchor released by a Chinese container ship.
Finland’s Investigation Reports
The anchor, weighing 6 tonnes and missing one of its prongs, was lifted from the bottom by a naval crane, as stated by Finland’s central criminal police (KRP). Reportedly, deep drag marks were found on both sides of the damaged pipeline.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a division of the Finnish police, which reported last week that the Hong Kong-flagged, Chinese-owned New New Polar Bear was being investigated, informed reporters in Helsinki on Tuesday that the container ship was missing a front anchor.
NBI confirmed that it had evidence and data pointing to the New New Polar Bear as the cause of the pipeline damage in the Gulf of Finland.
🇫🇮Finnish Navy investigators find a damaged anchor on seabed near the broken Finnish-Estonian #Balticconnector gas pipeline.
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) October 24, 2023
The 🇨🇳Chinese-owned container ship MV Newnew Polar Bear was at the site around the time of the incident - seen later in the Port of 🇷🇺Arkhangelsk with… pic.twitter.com/Wtz5Bck1DU
The NBI’s head of investigation, Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi, said in a press conference on Tuesday that a 1.5 to 4-metre-wide dragging trail on the seabed is observed to lead to the location of damage in the gas pipeline.
That trail is said to have been made by a 6-tonne anchor recovered by the Finnish Navy late Monday.
NBI chief Robin Lardot claimed, “The next questions are about whether it was intentional, negligence, poor seamanship, and that’s where we get into whether there could be a motive for what’s going on. It’s too early to answer that at this stage.”
Balticconnector Pipeline Damaged
Gas system operators in Finland and Estonia shut down the pipeline on 8 October after seeing a significant pressure drop.
The 48-mile pipeline connecting the Estonian port of Paldiski to the Finnish town of Inkoo was discovered to be mechanically damaged inside the Finnish economic zone, forcing it to be relocated from the original location in the seabed.
On 11 October, Helsinki verified damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and the parallel Estlink data communications cable connecting Finland and Estonia, two days after operators shut down the pipeline due to a rapid reduction in pressure.
Last week, Finnish investigators identified the New New Polar Bear as the prime suspect since the ship’s course and position in the Baltic Sea matched the time and location of the gas pipeline damage.
A communication cable between Sweden and Estonia was damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cable did not break. It was damaged in the same area as the Balticconnector gas pipeline. Swedish authorities do not yet have information about the perpetrators of the incident. pic.twitter.com/PLQ5Grq63y
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 18, 2023
Recent images of the Chinese ship on social media revealed that one of its anchors was missing as it halted in the Russian port of St. Petersburg while sailing the Baltic Sea.
According to the Marine Traffic website, the ship is sailing in the Russian northern seas, presumably en route to China via the Northern Sea Route.
The Balticconnector’s operators have stated that it will take at least five months to restore the pipeline, which will remain non-operational until at least April 2024.
China’s Response
Finnish investigators attempted to contact the Chinese ship’s captain many times but to no avail. As a consequence, they are working on the issue with Chinese authorities.
During a government media conference on Monday, a Chinese foreign ministry official stated that Beijing has asked for an “objective, fair, and professional” investigation into the damage to the Balticconnector and emphasised that the Chinese vessel was sailing normally.