China Calls for ‘Professional’ Probe Into Balticconnector Pipeline Incident

By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) —

China urged European nations to focus on the results of an investigation into damage to a key undersea pipeline last year after a senior Estonian official questioned a Chinese probe that reportedly called it an accident. 

China’s Foreign Ministry said the government in Beijing was in “close communication” with Estonian counterparts as it assesses the pipeline incident. Estonia’s defense chief this week raised objections to the reported Chinese probe, which said the rupture of the Balticconnector gas pipeline by a Hong Kong-flagged vessel was due to storm conditions. 

“We hope that all parties will continue to advance the investigation in a professional, objective and cooperative manner and jointly ensure that the incident is properly handled,” the ministry in Beijing said in a statement in response to a query about Estonia’s misgivings. 

The ship, the NewNew Polar Bear, was the main suspect in tearing up the Balticconnector, which links Finland and Estonia. Finnish authorities demanded to board the vessel, which shipping data show crossed the pipeline during its voyage to St. Petersburg on Oct. 8. 

An investigation conducted by China confirms that the vessel was responsible, but reportedly states that the damage was accidental and caused by a strong storm. 

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur questioned that finding. 

“For me personally, of course, it is very difficult to understand how a ship’s captain can fail to notice for so long that you have an anchor dragging along the bottom,” he told public broadcaster ERR on Monday. “But it is the task of the prosecutor’s office to complete the investigation.”

In late October, Finnish investigators found an anchor near the site of the ruptured pipeline, which was out of service for six months and cost €35 million ($39 million) to repair. The issue was raised by Finland’s then-president, Sauli Niinisto, during a call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in January. 

Two underwater telecommunication cables linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden were also damaged at around the same time, though it is not clear whether the Chinese investigation found the same vessel to be responsible.

Criminal investigations in Finland and Estonia are ongoing. Estonia hopes for China’s input in the matter, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mihkel Tamm said. Chinese authorities have yet to fulfill a request by Finland and Estonia for legal assistance, although Beijing has signaled a willingness to do so, Tamm said. 

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, for his part, lauded the participation of Chinese authorities. 

“I am also happy that China and China’s authorities have been cooperating, but we cannot do any conclusions” before the investigation wraps up, Orpo said at a news conference in Helsinki on Wednesday.

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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