Chinese ship’s anchor caused damage to Baltic Sea gas pipeline, Finland suggests

Oct. 30, 2023

Newnew Polar Bear vessel is responsible for the damage, says Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation.

Damage to the Balticconnector pipeline was caused by the Newnew Polar Bear’s anchor, says Finnish authorities.

Bruce Beaubouef * Managing Editor

TIKKURILA, Vantaa, Finland – A dislodged anchor from a Chinese cargo vessel is believed to have caused damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and two communication cables between Finland and Estonia, prompting an investigation involving the ship Newnew Polar Bear and a seabed trail.

The Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel Newnew Polar Bear is responsible for the damage that occurred to the undersea Balticconnector pipeline spanning the Gulf of Finland, said Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), citing evidence and data.

Investigators said the Finnish navy has retrieved an anchor from the location where the pipeline ruptured on Oct. 8, and they were investigating whether it belonged to the Chinese vessel.

A 1.5 to 4-meter wide seabed trail, leading to the point where the pipeline was broken, was likely caused by the dislodged six-tonne anchor.

“There are traces in the [anchor] which indicate that it has been in contact with the gas pipeline,” said Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi, who is heading the NBI investigation. Suspicions are reported to have been strengthened by recent photos which allegedly show that the vessel is now missing one of its anchors.

Officials said that establishing if the damage was intentional, unintentional, or due to “bad seafaring” would be the focus of the next phase of the probe.

Some reports describe the Newnew Polar Bear as being “on the run.” According to the Barents Observer, the Newnew Polar Bear is set to sail through the Kara Sea and make it through the icy strait of Vilkitsky. Escorted by a Russian state-owned icebreaker, it will subsequently sail eastwards along the North Siberian coast towards the Bering Strait and into Pacific waters.

10.30.2023

About the Author

Bruce Beaubouef | Managing Editor

Bruce Beaubouef is Managing Editor for Offshore magazine. In that capacity, he plans and oversees content for the magazine; writes features on technologies and trends for the magazine; writes news updates for the website; creates and moderates topical webinars; and creates videos that focus on offshore oil and gas and renewable energies. Beaubouef has been in the oil and gas trade media for 25 years, starting out as Editor of Hart’s Pipeline Digest in 1998. From there, he went on to serve as Associate Editor for Pipe Line and Gas Industry for Gulf Publishing for four years before rejoining Hart Publications as Editor of PipeLine and Gas Technology in 2003. He joined Offshore magazine as Managing Editor in 2010, at that time owned by PennWell Corp. Beaubouef earned his Ph.D. at the University of Houston in 1997, and his dissertation was published in book form by Texas A&M University Press in September 2007 as The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: U.S. Energy Security and Oil Politics, 1975-2005.