Beijing authorities have acknowledged a Chinese-owned container ship caused damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline in October of last year, describing the incident as accidental, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.
The pipeline, critical for natural gas transport between Finland and Estonia, experienced a significant drop in pressure on Oct. 8, prompting immediate international concern.
According to SCMP, the Chinese government has conveyed the findings from its “internal investigation” to Finnish and Estonian authorities, both of whom are conducting criminal investigations into the incident. The report, drafted in Chinese, attributes the accident to a severe storm and asserts that its own investigation adhered to International Maritime Organization principles.
However, Estonian and Finnish officials have dismissed the document’s legal significance. Kairi Kungas, a spokesperson for the Estonian prosecutor’s office, stated they had not received such a document and, in any case, it could not be used as evidence in Estonian proceedings. Kungas also mentioned that China has yet to respond to requests for legal assistance to gather evidence.
On the Finnish side, Anna Zareff, a spokeswoman for Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), declined to confirm receipt of the document but noted that their national investigation was ongoing. “During the investigation, there has been cooperation with Chinese authorities, including a formal request for legal assistance sent to the relevant Chinese authorities,” Zareff wrote in a statement quoted by SCMP.
Finnish police have identified the suspect vessel as the Newnew Polar Bear, a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, believed to have been near the damage site at the time of the incident. Investigators recovered a several-ton anchor from the floor of the Gulf of Finland, which technical studies suggest belonged to the freighter, implying the anchor might have struck the pipeline.
Any final conclusions are pending the completion of the necessary investigative measures, which could take some time, admitted the spokeswoman for Finland’s NBI.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet responded to SCMP’s request for comment on the matter.
