Finland confirms suspicions that a Chinese ship damaged a gas pipeline with its anchor

The Finnish National Investigation Agency (KNI) this Saturday confirmed its suspicions that the rupture of the Balticconnector gas pipeline on October 8 was caused by the anchor of a Chinese-flagged ship as a result of possible sabotage.

Finnish authorities have completed a survey of the exact location where the rupture occurred that caused the gas flow between Finland and Estonia to stop, and have recovered a large, damaged anchor from the seabed.

“At this point we can say that the anchor rescued from the sea on October 24 matches the anchor of the ship. [navio chinês] A new new polar bear in terms of some technical data,” said Superintendent Risto Lohi, responsible for the investigation.

“The same paint was also found on the above-mentioned anchor and on the damaged gas pipeline,” he added.

Investigators have established that the ship, flying the Hong Kong flag, was near the gas pipeline at the time of the breakthrough, and then moored in Kaliningrad without an anchor.

“Based on the analysis of the collected data, the main direction of the investigation into the course of events has not changed. Our attention remains focused on clarifying the role of the Newnew Polar Bear ship,” the PIC emphasized in the message.

According to the researchers, cooperation between the national authorities of Finland and Estonia was close, and there were also requests for cooperation from Chinese authorities.

“We have contacted the Chinese authorities and submitted an international request for legal assistance to obtain information and improve cooperation in clarifying the case,” Lohi said.

The leak in the failed Balticconnector gas pipeline was discovered on October 8 and, according to Finnish authorities, could have been caused deliberately and is being investigated as a possible sabotage.

Finnish state company Gasgrid, which operates the pipeline jointly with Estonia’s Elering, estimates that Balticconnector will not be repaired until April 2024.

Almost at the same time, there was a serious failure in the undersea telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia, although the Estonian authorities responsible for the investigation have not yet been able to determine whether this was due to deliberate human action.

Days later, Sweden announced that a similar cable connecting Stockholm with the Estonian capital had also been damaged during the same period, but did not yet provide further details about the circumstances of the incident.