Regarding the Balticconnector gas pipeline, shared at a joint press conference with his counterpart Estonia Kristen Michal in Helsinki last week, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo affirmed: "I am very happy that China and the Chinese government have cooperated, but we cannot make any conclusions before the investigation results. But I pledge that when the investigation results are available, we will announce them all."
China has recently sent Finland and Estonia internal investigation results into the Chinese-owned ship suspected of destroying the Balticconnector pipeline in October last year. China said the cargo ship NewNew Polar Bear had accidentally damaged the gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia due to the storm.
The Finnish government is leading a joint investigation into the Balticconnector gas pipeline, focusing on the container ship NewNew Polar Bear, which was then flying the flag of Hong Kong (China). The owner of the ship is mainland China's NewNew Shipping Line.
China's report saying the NewNew Polar Bear accidentally damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline has led to a heated debate in Baltic Sea countries, according to SCMP.
Previously, Baltic investigators also believed that the NewNewNew Polar Bear pulled a 6,000kg anchor to the seabed, cutting off the Balticconnector pipeline and fiber optic cables. Investigators have found the quarry a few meters away from the scene.
Estonia's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told public broadcaster ERR last week: "Personally, I find it difficult to understand why for such a long time, the captain of a ship may not have recognized the ship's anchor being dragged at the bottom of the sea. However, the completion of the investigation belongs to the prosecution office".
The repair of the Balticconnector pipeline was completed in April this year at a cost of 38.3 million USD. However, Minister Pevkur said that it is unlikely that China will compensate. "As long as China still affirms that this was an accident, China is likely to maintain the non-compensation stance," he said.
Balticconnector is a 77-km long gas pipeline connecting two members of both the European Union and NATO. Along with the two telecommunication cables, this gas pipeline in Batlic was damaged on the night of October 7 to the morning of October 8, 2023.
Finland's Minister for European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz said: "I'm not the captain, but I think it would be easy to recognize if the boat was towing the anchor for hundreds of kilometers. Everything shows that this is intentional behavior but until now no one has admitted it" - Minister Adlercreutz told Politico in December 2023.
