Chinese ship remains at center of investigation into Baltic Sea gas pipeline damaged last year

HELSINKI (AP) — A Chinese container ship remains at the center of an investigation into the causes of damage caused last year to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline between NATO members Finland and Estonia, they said. Finnish authorities on Thursday.

It has been more than six months since significant man-made damage, causing a significant drop in pressure, was first detected in the Balticconnector gas pipeline in Finnish economic waters on October 8. Gas network operators in Finland and Estonia — Gasgrid Finland and Elering — were forced to close it, cutting a crucial link between the Nordic and Baltic gas markets for several months.

The pipeline, which crosses the Gulf of Finland between the Finnish town of Inkoo and the Estonian port of Paldiski, was reopened this week after multi-million euro repair work.

The National Bureau of Investigation, a branch of Finnish police, said Thursday it still believes an anchor from the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Newnew Polar Bear, which was heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, had been dislodged and caused the damage detected in Balticconnector.

“The investigation has progressed and there has been co-operation with the Chinese authorities who are investigating the matter,” Detective Superintendent said. Risto Lohi, head of the NBI investigation, told the Associated Press.

“The main line of investigation has remained unchanged: the Newnew freighter Polar Bear and its anchor are considered linked to the damage to the pipeline,” Lohi said.

Finnish investigators have not said whether they believe the damage allegedly caused by the Chinese ship was intentional or whether it was caused by incompetent navigation, as some experts suggest.

Finnish maritime authorities said that at the time of the incident they had failed to establish radio contact with the captain of the Newnew Polar Bear despite several attempts.

Last year, the NBI said an initial investigation by investigators and experts discovered a trail of about 1½ to four meters (five to 13 feet) on the seabed that appeared to lead to the point of damage of the gas pipeline. This drag is believed to have been caused by the Newnew Polar Bear’s heavy six-ton ​​anchor, which was later recovered from the seabed by the Finnish Navy.

“We’re probably talking several months before final findings,” pending further information from technical studies and data from NBI’s international partners, Lohi said.

Sauli Niinistö, former Finnish president, spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the Balticconnector affair in a video call in January, but no details of the discussions were disclosed.

Telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia, as well as Sweden and Estonia, were also damaged along with the Balticconnector gas pipeline. Finnish and Estonian authorities believe both incidents could be linked to the Chinese ship.

Janne Grönlund, senior vice president of Gasgrid Finland, said Balticconnector was reopened for commercial operation early Monday after gas started flowing from Finland to Estonia. A smaller amount of gas also flowed in the other direction.

“I’m happy to say that everything has gone according to plan” since the pipeline was restarted, he said.

More than a dozen different organizations and companies participated in the repairs, which were completed in just over six months. Repairing this underwater infrastructure usually takes one to two years, Estonian Elering said.

Grönlund said the total cost of the pipeline repair work, carried out entirely by remotely operated equipment at a depth of 60 meters (about 200 feet), is estimated at around 35 million euros ($38 million).

It remains to be seen who will foot the bill.

Last year, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo began talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about securing European Union funding to repair the pipeline. The EU covered 75% of the initial construction cost of Balticconnector, around €300 million.

Following the damage to the gas pipeline and data cables, NATO has intensified its patrols in the Baltic Sea. The alliance has sent minehunters, maritime patrol aircraft and drones to the region to secure the area and detect suspicious movements near its critical underwater infrastructure.

Finland, an EU country of 5.6 million people neighboring Russia, joined NATO in April 2023 after decades of military non-alignment.