Finland Claims Chinese Ship Damaged Baltic Undersea Gas Line On Purpose, Demands Onboard Investigation

Finland’s investigators demand access to the NewNew Polar Bear, a vessel flying the flag of Hong Kong whose anchor ripped up an undersea gas pipeline near the Finnish waters in October, says President Sauli Niinisto.

It’s unclear if the ship dragged its anchor for hundreds of kilometres intentionally or as a consequence of poor seamanship, she told YLE TV1 on Saturday.

More information will be available after the ship reaches China, and the captain of the vessel may be questioned, says Niinisto. He added that they, indeed, require that Finnish experts be involved.

Authorities in the newest NATO member state are investigating the events related to the interconnector on the Gulf of Finland, which began leaking on Oct. 8.

They’ve linked the damage to Hainan Xin Xin Yang Shipping, the registered owner of Newnew Polar Bear. According to Bloomberg statistics, its owner is Ledoco International Logistics.

Per Bloomberg statistics, the ship is right now near the Korean peninsula and is on its way to Tianjin, China, after sailing via Russia’s Arctic.

Investigators observed hundreds of kilometres of drag marks on the seafloor, some as large as 4 meters, where the Balticconnector gas pipeline (77 km) connecting Finland and Estonia was breached. On the seafloor, the pipeline has migrated eastward. Three data cables on the seafloor were also damaged, one of which belonged to Russia.

According to Bloomberg data, the cargo ship passed through the pipeline on its route to St. Petersburg on Oct. 8 and departed the city on the 10th of October. Per the data, the ship exclusively visited Russian ports when in Europe in the months of September and October. 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization reacted by strengthening patrols in the Baltic Sea and deploying planes and minehunters. The Joint Expeditionary Force, a coalition of ten northern European states, also decided this week to deploy warships and planes throughout the region to protect crucial undersea infrastructure.

References: politico

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Source: Maritime Shipping News