Norwegian Navy Shadows Chinese Vessel Probed Over Gas Pipeline Damage In Gulf Of Finland

A Norwegian Navy vessel reportedly shadowed a container vessel from China following accusations related to impairments to a gas pipeline based in the Gulf of Finland. Norway’s Navy observed the China-based vessel for about 15 hours as it sailed along Norway’s western coast on Monday, 16 October, per vessel tracking data.

On Tuesday, Finland-based investigators said that they were looking into the Chinese vessel dubbed the NewNew Polar Bear and other vessels in the vicinity when the pipeline got impaired on 8 October. They mentioned that the incident occurred due to “external activities” and could’ve been deliberate.

The NewNew Polar Bear is a container vessel sailing between China and Europe via the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic.

On Monday, it departed from the Baltic Sea and stepped into the North Sea to sail north along the coast of Norway.

Norway is the largest European gas supplier. It deployed its Navy following the Nord Stream sabotage to safeguard the offshore oil and gas platforms.

The operational command centre of the Norwegian military refused to comment on Monday’s activity. The operator and owner of the NewNew Polar Bear declined to comment when it was contacted by Reuters.

References: Reuters, Scand Asia, The Print

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Source: Maritime Shipping News