Finlandʼs National Bureau of Investigation said it is currently focused on the role of the Chinese container ship NewNew Polar Bear in the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline, Reuters writes.
On October 8, a gas pipeline in the Finnish economic zone and a telecommunications cable in the Estonian economic zone connecting the countries were damaged. Finnish investigators believe it may have been sabotage, but are not yet sure.
Sweden later reported that a third line connecting Stockholm and Tallinn was damaged around the same time as the other two.
Finlandʼs National Bureau of Investigation said the time and direction of the Hong Kong-flagged Chinese vessel NewNew Polar Bear coincided with the time and place of the pipeline damage.
Meanwhile, Estonian investigators added that they are investigating the role of two ships — Chinaʼs NewNew Polar Bear and Russiaʼs Sevmorput. Both were near the damage sites. Russia denies the involvement of its vessel in the events.
Reuters also checked the ship tracking data and reported that only these two ships were at all three locations around the time the incidents occurred.
Finnish investigators found a "heavy object" at the site of the gas pipeline damage and are investigating whether it is related to the incident. There is no reason to believe that there was an explosion on the gas pipeline.
- On October 10, Finland reported a leak from the Balticconnector gas pipeline — "due to external activity." No traces of explosives were found. To damage a gas pipeline, special skills and equipment are required. On October 8, operators noticed an unusual pressure drop in the pipeline. Balticconnector is a gas pipeline that has two branches. It transports natural gas between Finland and Estonia depending on supply and demand. The length of the Balticconnector is 77 kilometers, it began operation in 2020.