Ship captain remanded in custody in Hong Kong over damaging Baltic Sea pipeline

The captain of a Hong Kong-flagged container ship has been remanded in custody on suspicion of severing a critical Baltic Sea gas pipeline running between Estonia and Finland two years ago.

Wan Wenguo, 43, appeared at Eastern Court on Thursday to face a count of criminal damage and two charges for alleged violations of local marine by-laws during the NewNew Polar Bear’s voyage from October to December of 2023.

Prosecutors held the defendant, who is from mainland China, liable for the damages caused to the 77km (47.8-mile) Balticconnector, a natural gas pipeline that is a key source of energy for Finland, as well as a nearby telecoms cable, when the freight vessel sailed through the Gulf of Finland on October 8 of that year.

They also accused Wan of breaching navigation safety protocols by failing to ensure the ship had enough anchors and of not making daily reports to the vessel’s owner, breaching two regulations under the Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance.

The court scheduled the next hearing for early July to allow time for further investigations.

Wan was remanded in custody after confirming he had no bail applications to make.