An investigation into the harm to the Balticonnector fuel pipeline is at the moment targeted on the position of the Chinese NewNew Polar Bear container vessel, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) mentioned on Friday.
Early on Oct. 8, a fuel pipeline and a telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia had been damaged, in what Finnish investigators mentioned might have been sabotage, although they’ve but to conclude whether or not it was an accident or a deliberate act.
On Tuesday, Sweden mentioned a 3rd hyperlink, connecting Stockholm to Tallinn, had been broken at roughly the identical time as the opposite two.
“The police have established in the criminal investigation that the movements of the vessel NewNew Polar Bear flying the flag of Hong Kong coincide with the time and place of the gas pipeline damage,” NBI mentioned in a press release.
“For this reason, the investigation is now focused on the role of the said vessel,” the Finnish investigators added.
Following Finland’s NBI assertion, Estonian investigators, who’re additionally wanting into the telecoms cable incidents, mentioned they had been nonetheless taking a look at two ships, the NewNew Polar Bear and Russia’s Sevmorput.
“We have identified that during the incidents, the vessels NewNew Polar Bear and Sevmorput were in the area. We are still investigating whether or not these vessels had anything to do with the damage,” they mentioned in a press release to Reuters.
Only these two ships had been current in any respect three incident websites across the approximate time when the harm occurred, in accordance with vessel monitoring knowledge reviewed by Reuters.
‘Heavy object’
Finland’s NBI mentioned “a heavy object” was discovered on the seabed close to the pipeline harm and had been investigating whether or not this was linked to the incident.
“The investigation has confirmed that the damage has been caused by an external mechanical force, and based on current knowledge there is no reason to believe the damage has been caused by an explosion,” Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi mentioned within the assertion.
A just lately shaped “huge clump of soil” deep within the clay seabed was believed to comprise a particularly heavy object, and was the topic of investigation, the NBI mentioned.
“Attempts will be made to lift the object from the sea for technical examination,” Lohi mentioned.
NewNew Shipping, the proprietor and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, declined to remark when contacted by Reuters.
Incidents
Separately, Finland’s international ministry mentioned on Friday it had contacted China and Russia through diplomatic channels concerning the investigation of harm to a pipeline and a telecoms cable.
The Finnish international ministry, in a press release to Reuters mentioned it had contacted China to hunt assist to get in contact with the NewNew Polar Bear.
Regarding Russia, Finland contacted the Russian international ministry “stating the seriousness of the matter” and that an investigation had been launched.
A second telecoms cable, linking Sweden and Estonia, suffered a partial outage at across the identical time, which can even have been brought on by exterior affect, Swedish and Estonian authorities have mentioned.
The incidents have stoked issues concerning the safety of power provides within the wider Nordic area and prompted the NATO army alliance to ramp up patrols within the Baltic Sea.
Russia’s Rosatom mentioned the Sevmorput had no hyperlink to any of the pipeline harm.
“We categorically reject as groundless any suggestions that a Rosatom-operated ship may have been in any way connected to the Balticconnector pipeline incident in the Gulf of Finland on October 8,” Rosatom mentioned in a press release to Reuters.
“It passed through 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.”
(Reuters – Reporting by Anne Kauranen, further reporting by Beijing and Moscow newsrooms, writing by Terje Solsvik, modifying by Gwladys Fouche, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis and Jane Merriman)
