Chinese Ship NewNew Polar Bear Main Focus Into Baltic Cable Damage Probe, Says Estonia

Prosecutors from Estonia said that the container ship NewNew Polar Bear was the primary focus of the inquiry relating to the damage to 2 subsea telecom cables the previous month.

Video Credits: CRUX 

Finland Police said the anchor found on the seafloor next to the damaged gas pipeline the same night most likely belonged to the same vessel.

The Estonian and Finnish authorities are investigating the ship’s role in the accident as its movements on 7th and 8th October match the place and time of the accident.

China has agreed to cooperate with the investigation and provide all information per international law. However, the vessel’s operator and owner, NewNew Shipping, declined to comment when asked by Reuters.

After this accident, NATO began its patrols in the Baltic Sea.

State Prosecutor Triinu Olev said they had made a legal request to China so the local law enforcement authorities could do what was needed regarding the ship’s crew.

The investigation into the Estonia-Finland cable is now being officially extended to cover another cable leading to Sweden after authorities discovered it had also been damaged by human activity.

Finland’s Police said that the evidence points to the NewNew Polar Bear since the anchor most probably belonged to this vessel, and the anchor’s paint was also found on the damaged gas pipeline.

Per a ship-tracking and maritime analytics provider called MarineTraffic, two vessels, the NewNew Polar Bear and the Russian-flagged vessel Sevmorput, were near the accident site around the time of damage to the cables.

References: The Print, Reuters

Chinese Ship NewNew Polar Bear Main Focus Into Baltic Cable Damage Probe, Says Estonia appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News