Finland Accused a Chinese Vessel of Deliberately Damaging the Balticconnector Gas Pipeline
Finnish Minister for European Affairs, Anders Adlercreutz, stated that the Chinese container ship, Newnew Polar Bear, is likely involved in the incident.
This was reported by Politico.
The conclusions of the investigation initiated by Helsinki regarding the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline point to the involvement of the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear.
It is believed that this container ship dropped its anchor, dragging it along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, cutting the cables of the gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia. Later, the anchor, weighing about six tons, was found a few meters from the gas pipeline damage site.
"I'm not the sea captain. But I would think that you would notice that you're dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometers. I think everything indicates that it was intentional. But of course, so far, nobody has admitted to it," said Finnish Minister for European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz.
It is worth noting that after details about the name and origin of the ship became known, Finland and Estonia state that they are making efforts to maintain close communication with the Chinese authorities in an attempt to involve them in the investigation. The countries have even decided to officially request Beijing to send representatives for the investigation into the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear, currently heading to one of the Chinese ports.
At the same time, Minister Adlercreutz pointed out that it would be inappropriate to speculate at this point whether the damage to the gas pipeline was approved by the Chinese government or not. However, according to the Finnish minister, the return of the ship to China raises certain questions.
"If I as a captain would have done something that the Chinese government wouldn't approve of, then I would be concerned about returning with my boat to China," said the minister.
Recall that around October 7-8, damage occurred to the Gasgrid Finland gas pipeline, and its Estonian counterparts from Elering noticed an abnormal pressure drop in the 77-kilometer Balticconnector gas pipeline, connecting NATO members Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea.
It is worth mentioning that at the same time when Balticconnector was damaged, the Swedish authorities detected damage to the telecommunication cable laid between Sweden and Estonia.