Investigation Finds Chinese Vessel's Anchor Likely Damaged Baltic Sea Gas Pipeline

Investigators zero in on Hong Kong-flagged vessel NewNew Polar Bear, missing an anchor and suspected of unintentional damage or sabotage, as the source of broken pipeline's disruption to Finland's gas supply.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Finland has found evidence pointing towards the Hong Kong-flagged vessel NewNew Polar Bear as the cause of damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline earlier this month. They believe a dislodged anchor from the ship might have caused the damage.
Initially, authorities suspected Russia to be deliberately causing the damage possibly as a 'retribution' for Finland joining NATO. However, the suspicion has now switched to the NewNew Polar Bear, which was in the vicinity around the time of the damage and is missing an anchor.
While proving whether the damage was intentional, unintentional or due to "bad seafaring" forms the next phase of investigation, Finland's National Bureau has unsuccessfully tried to contact the NewNew Polar Bear to identify if the found anchor belongs to the ship.
Besides the gas pipeline, two telecom cables under the Baltic Sea connecting Finland and Estonia were also damaged during the same period. One cable between Sweden and Estonia was broken as well. Investigators are examining if the same vessel is responsible for the damages.
After Russia halted gas imports in May last year following its invasion of Ukraine, the Balticconnector Pipeline became Finland's only channel of import for natural gas. The pipeline's disruption caused a sudden drop in gas supply pressure, which forced Finland to rely on deliveries of liquefied natural gas via ship to its Inkoo port.
China has reportedly expressed its willingness to provide necessary information regarding the damage according to international law and called for an 'objective, fair and professional' investigation into the case. Repair work on the pipeline, which amounted to 300 million euros ($318m) in damages, is expected to take until at least end of April 2024.