The captain of the NewNew Polar Bear Wan Wenguo, a 43-year-old Chinese citizen, appeared in court on July 4 at the Eastern First instance Court of Hong Kong (China).
According to the indictment, the captain of the NewNew Polar Bear ship was accused of causing "criminal damage" to the underwater gas pipeline and underground telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia on October 8, 2023.
The court's document also stated that defendant Wan Wenguo "had no legitimate grounds to damage other people's property" and that defendant "recklessly disregarded the possibility of damage to that property".
The captain of the Chinese ship New Polar Bear appeared in court at 1:30 p.m. on July 4. However, the case could not continue because the captain did not have an defense lawyer.
When the judge asked the captain who was responsible for the incident in the Baltic Sea, no response was given. The 43-year-old captain was completely silent as the judge discussed the case.
The captain returned to the courtroom again at 11:30. When the judge asked why the defendant did not have a lawyer, the captain replied that he had no money.
The answer surprised the judge because the defendant refused the lawyer's appointment to provide it on the same morning. When the judge asked if the captain wanted an defense attorney to appoint him to the next trial, the captain replied yes.
The captain of the NewNew Polar Bear also said that he was questioned by Chinese authorities last year. The judge stressed that the questioning conducted by Chinese officials was not related to the ongoing litigation procedures at the Hong Kong (China) court.
The captain is Chinese but the trial took place in Hong Kong (China) because New Polar Bear was holding a Hong Kong (China) flag at the time of the gas pipeline break.
On July 4, a court judge in Hong Kong (China) postponed the trial for 3 months, until September 26, after the prosecution announced that it needed time to collect documents and other evidence from the Finnish and Estonian authorities.
In addition to the allegation of cutting the gas pipeline, the captain of the NewNew Polar Bear also faced two other allegations of violating transportation rules in the International Convention for Safety at Sea.
In the first hearing in May after his arrest, captain Wan Wenguo refused to ask to be released on bail and was still detained. In the July 4 trial, the captain of the NewNew Polar Bear once again chose not to apply abroad.
The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert for sabotage since a series of power outages, gas pipeline and telecommunication cables were broken since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in early 2022.
Finnish authorities accused the NewNew Polar Bear of severing the Balticconnector gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea by dragging its anchor to the seabed.
Estonian police suspect the Hong Kong-registered ship also damaged telecommunications cables connecting Estonia to Finland and Sweden on October 7-8, 2023, before severing the Balticconnector gas pipeline on its way to a port near Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Finnish and Estonian investigators have yet to determine whether the damage was accidental or intentional and have yet to draw a conclusion.
