Finland suspects Hong Kong ship of damaging Balticconnector gas pipeline
Finnish police will cooperate with Chinese authorities to study the route of Hong Kong's Newnew Polar Bear
Finland is checking a Hong Kong ship for involvement in the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline. The investigation has shown that the Hong Kong-flagged Newnew Polar Bear was near the scene of the incident when the gas pipeline was damaged.
Source. This is stated in the report of the Finnish police.
Earlier, police said that there were several ships nearby at the time of the incident, including the Russian nuclear container ship Sevmorput.
"Rosatom denied the possible involvement of the container ship in the incident, noting that the ship was sailing from Murmansk to St. Petersburg that day without stopping or slowing down.
Finland will cooperate with the Chinese authorities to study the route of the Hong Kong Newnew Polar Bear, the police said.
Earlier, the Estonian newspaper Postimees wrote that on the day of the incident, the Hong Kong-flagged vessel came much closer to the pipe than other vessels.
The investigation also refuted the initial version of the gas pipeline explosion, according to the Finnish police. An inspection of the scene showed that "the damage was caused by an external mechanical force." A "huge lump of soil containing what appears to be an extremely heavy object" was found at the bottom, and is currently being investigated.
Background. As a reminder, Sweden also reported damage to a communication cable leading to Estonia. This happened in the same place where the Balticconnector gas pipeline was damaged.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
