HELSINKI, Oct 20 (Portal) – The investigation into damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline is now focusing on the role of the Chinese container ship NewNew Polar Bear, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday.
Early on October 8, a gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia were disrupted. According to Finnish investigators, it may have been a case of sabotage. However, it is not yet clear whether it was an accident or an intentional act.
“Police have determined through the criminal investigation that the movements of the Hong Kong-flagged vessel NewNew Polar Bear coincide with the time and location of the damage to the gas pipeline,” NBI said in a statement.
“For this reason, the investigation is now focusing on the role of the vessel in question,” investigators added.
Location of the damaged gas pipe
The NBI said “a heavy object” was found on the seabed near the pipeline damage and it was investigating whether it was related to the incident.
“The investigation has confirmed that the damage was caused by an external mechanical force and, based on current knowledge, there is no reason to believe that the damage was caused by an explosion,” Detective Inspector Risto Lohi said in the statement.
A recently formed “giant clump of earth” deep in the clayey seafloor was believed to contain an extremely heavy object and was the subject of an investigation, the NBI said.
“Attempts are being made to lift the object from the sea for technical examination,” Lohi said.
NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, declined to comment when contacted by Portal.
INCIDENTS
Separately, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said on Friday it had contacted China and Russia through diplomatic channels to investigate damage to a pipeline and a telecommunications cable.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Portal it had contacted China to request help in contacting the new polar bear.
Regarding Russia, Finland contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry and explained “how serious the matter was” and that an investigation had been launched.
Around the same time, a second telecommunications cable connecting Sweden and Estonia experienced a partial failure that may also have been caused by external influence, Swedish and Estonian authorities said.
The incidents have raised concerns about the security of energy supplies across the Nordic region and prompted the NATO military alliance to step up patrols in the Baltic Sea.
Investigators on Tuesday named the NewNew Polar Bear, which travels across the Arctic between China and Europe, and the Sevmorput, a Russian nuclear-powered cargo ship that travels between Murmansk and St. Petersburg.
Russia’s Rosatom said the Sevmorput had no connection to the damage to the pipeline.
“We categorically reject as unfounded any suggestion that a Rosatom-operated vessel could be in any way connected to the Balticconnector pipeline incident in the Gulf of Finland,” Rosatom said in a statement to Portal.
“It crossed the Gulf of Finland, an area of intense maritime traffic, without stopping or slowing down, maintaining an average speed of 14.5 knots. The crew did not observe or record anything unusual, suspicious or otherwise reportable.”
Reporting by Anne Kauranen, additional reporting from newsrooms in Beijing and Moscow, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche, Alex Richardson and Jonathan Oatis
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