On October 8th, Finland and Estonia discovered damage to a Baltic Sea pipeline. They agree that this was probably caused by humans. Finnish investigations are now focusing on a Chinese ship.
After damage to the Balticconnector pipeline in the Baltic Sea was discovered more than a week ago, Finland and Estonia see human activity as the cause. While Finland is already considering a Chinese ship as the culprit, Estonia has held back from speculation.
As the Finnish National Investigation Bureau (NBI) announced, the investigation is now focusing on the Chinese container ship “NewNew Polar Bear”. “Police have determined through the criminal investigation that the movements of the Hong Kong-flagged vessel ‘NewNew Polar Bear’ coincide with the time and location of the damage to the gas pipeline,” it said.
Finnish investigators believe sabotage is possible, but have not ruled out an accident. “We will work with the Chinese authorities to clarify the role of the vessel in question,” the statement said. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, declined to comment, according to Reuters news agency.
Estonia: Too early to responsible to call
The Estonian government, however, said it was still too early to name culprits. It is also not yet clear whether the damage was caused intentionally to damage critical infrastructure. Hopefully the cable will be repaired by next week.
According to Finnish investigators, a “heavy object” was found on the seabed near the damaged pipeline. Whether this is related to the incident is being investigated. “The investigation has confirmed that the damage was caused by an external mechanical force, and based on current knowledge, there is no reason to believe that the damage was caused by an explosion,” the NBI said.
Damage sparked concern
On October 8, Finland and Estonia discovered an unusual pressure loss in the Balticconnector natural gas pipeline and took it out of service. It was later discovered that she and the cable were damaged. At around the same time, a telecommunications cable between Estonia and Sweden was apparently damaged. This damage has already been repaired. The damage had fueled concerns about the security of energy supplies across the Nordic region. NATO therefore increased its patrols in the Baltic Sea.
The 77 kilometer long gas pipeline runs from Inkoo in Finland through the Gulf of Finland to the Estonian port of Paldiski. The 300 million euro line was put into operation in 2020 and can be used in both directions. Finally, the gas mostly flowed towards Estonia and then on to Latvia.