Finnish police announced on Friday October 20 that a Chinese ship was at the heart of their investigation into the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia recently damaged by external intervention.
“The movements of the Hong Kong-flagged ship Newnew Polar Bear coincide with the time and location where the pipeline was damaged,” the National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Finland is investigating the leak from the Balticconnector gas pipeline which led to its closure on October 8, the authorities having announced that it was caused by external intervention, raising fears of possible sabotage. “We will cooperate with the Swedish authorities to establish the role of this vessel,” said a police official, Risto Lohi, quoted in the press release.
“An external mechanical force”
Police also confirmed that the damage was caused by “an external mechanical force” and that they had spotted “a heavy object” near the gas pipeline. “A huge, recently formed pile of earth likely containing an extremely heavy object has been discovered on the seafloor,” Risto Lohi added. Police will attempt to recover the object to see if there is a link to the damaged gas pipeline.
According to the manager of the Finnish gas pipeline, the repair work will take “at least five months”, forcing Finland to obtain supplies via its floating liquefied natural gas terminal at Inkoo (south).
More than a year ago, on September 26, 2022, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions occurred on Nord Stream 1 and 2, pipelines which transported most of Russian gas to Europe. Its origin still remains an enigma. Natural gas represents around 5% of Finland’s energy consumption, mainly for industry and electricity production as well as for heating