Anchor Could Have Hit Balticconnector, Lowering Political Risk

Wires carrying comments from the Finnish police, who are investigating the circumstances surrounding the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, which will see the line out of action until at least April 2024. States that a "foreign object was lifted from the sea this morning...object found near broken Baltic Sea pipeline has been identified as an anchor...one of the anchor's two spikes is missing...We found out that one of the [Hong Kong registered] Newnew Polar Bear container vessel's front anchors was missing....We are still investigating whether the damage was deliberate...Reparation can start when crime scene investigation is over."

• In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of damage to the pipeline speculation mounted that the incident could be linked to the alleged sabotage to the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022, risking an intensification in already toxic relations between Russia and the West.
• If the non-involvement of either Moscow or the West in the Balticconnector incident can be proved then it will mitigate the risk of an escalation or retaliatory actions.