Update on Balticconnector Blast Investigation

Finland is investigating the role of a Hong Kong vessel in the damage to an underwater gas pipeline earlier this month as a heavy object was found, the Finnish police said, cited by Bloomberg.

• The police established in the criminal probe that the movements of the vessel “Newnew Polar Bear” coincide with the time and place of the gas pipeline damage, according to a statement from the National Bureau of Investigation on Friday.
• The vessel is registered in Hong Kong and Finnish officials are working together with Chinese authorities.
• “The investigation has confirmed that the damage has been caused by an external mechanical force, and based on current knowledge there is no reason to believe the damage has been caused by an explosion,” said Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi said.
• During dives to the damaged gas conduit, officials also discovered “a recently formed huge clump of soil containing probably an extremely heavy object,” and plan to investigate what it is and whether it is connected to the incident that ruptured the pipeline.
• “The object lies deep down in clay seabed and no conclusion can be reached thus far of its nature,” said the police.
• The Balticconector pipeline linking Estonia and Finland was taken offline on 8 October and is scheduled to return operational next April at the earliest, Gasgrid said.