After the damage to the Balticconnector pipeline in the Baltic Sea, investigators assume that the damage was caused by a large anchor from a Chinese container ship. A one-and-a-half to four meter wide drag trail can be seen on the seabed, leading to the site of damage to the gas pipeline, Risto Lohi from the Finnish Criminal Investigation Department said at a press conference on Tuesday. An anchor was found a few meters away, which probably caused the trace and the damage. It is believed that the Hong Kong-flagged ship Newnew Polar Bear caused the damage.
According to Lohi, the anchor was recovered on Tuesday morning. It therefore shows traces that indicate that it had contact with the pipeline.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline runs between Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia through the Gulf of Finland in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. She was damaged on October 8th. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö announced two days later that the damage to the line and a data cable between Finland and Estonia had probably been caused by “external activity”. It is still unclear whether this was an accident or deliberate sabotage.
The Finnish criminal police had already announced on Friday that they would concentrate on the role of the “Newnew Polar Bear” in the investigation into the incident. The ship belongs to a Chinese shipping company.