Finnish probe links Chinese ship to damaged Baltic Sea gas pipeline

Finnish police said an anchor found on the seabed next to a damaged gas pipeline probably belonged to Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear

China has previously said it is willing to provide necessary information on the incident in accordance with international law

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Finnish police said a probe of an anchor believed to have damaged Balticconector pipeline likely belonged to a Chinese cargo ship. Photo: Elering/Handout via Reuters

Published: 10:31pm, 10 Nov 2023

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.