Estonia’s defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, is sceptical of Beijing’s claims that a Chinese ship accidentally wrecked a key Baltic pipeline last year.
On Monday, the South China Morning Post reported Chinese authorities had admitted that in October 2023 a Chinese-owned ship damaged the Balticconnector pipeline that runs between Estonia and Finland, but said it had been an accident.
The Chinese-language account, which was shared with ministries in the European countries, attributed the incident to a strong storm.
Estonia and Finland are pursuing a joint criminal inquiry centred on the NewNew Polar Bear, a container ship flying the Hong Kong flag at the time of the event. Its registered owner is the Chinese mainland firm NewNew Shipping Line.
“Personally, I find it very difficult to understand how a ship’s captain could fail to notice for such a long time that its anchor had been dragging along the seabed, but it is up to the prosecutor’s office to complete the investigation,” Pevkur told Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), Estonia’s public broadcaster.
Repair work on the pipeline concluded in April at a cost of €35 million (US$38.3 million), but Pevkur said it was unlikely that Beijing would pay for the repairs.
“Given the practical realities, it is very hard to assume that China’s position here will change and when they maintain that this was an accident, then they is likely to stick to their stance that they have nothing to compensate for,” Pevkur said.
Asked about the reports on Monday, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen responded: “We constantly cooperate with China and exchange information, but we do not go into details, because the investigation is still in progress.”
The report has made headlines across the region, with ERR saying that it would be discussed when Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal travels to Finland for a state visit on Tuesday evening.
“The practical task remains to repair the damage, and the question remains of who will bear the cost,” Michal said, according to ERR.
Beijing’s Chinese-language report is not admissible as evidence in the criminal probe, and prosecutors in both countries have continued to call on Chinese authorities to comply with the joint inquiry, which is being led by Helsinki.
“We submitted a legal aid request to the Chinese authorities to gather evidence from the vessel and its crew,” Kairi Kungas, a spokeswoman for the Estonian Prosecutor’s Office told the Post.
“In order to execute the legal aid request, the Chinese authorities can carry out the investigative operations by themselves or involve Estonian investigators, although all activities conducted on Chinese territory must conform to local legislation.
“The Chinese authorities have not provided a response on executing the legal aid request as of yet.”
The Balticconnector is a 77km (48 mile) gas pipeline that connects the two European Union and Nato members. Along with two telecommunication cables, it was damaged on the night of October 7 or morning of October 8, with authorities suspecting foul play.
I think everything indicates that it was intentional. But of course, so far, nobody has admitted to it
The Newnew Polar Bear is believed to have dragged its 6,000kg (1,300lbs) anchor across the seabed and sliced through the cables. It was found metres from the site of the incident.
Previously, Finland’s Minister of European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz said it looked as though the damage was intentional.
“I’m not the sea captain. But I would think that you would notice that you’re dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometres,” Adlercreutz told Politico in December.
“I think everything indicates that it was intentional. But of course, so far, nobody has admitted to it.”
After the incident, the NewNew Polar Bear sailed to St Petersburg, Russia, and was subsequently photographed in that nation’s Arkhangelsk region, before eventually docking in Tianjin.
In November, Finnish authorities said that Beijing had pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation; in January then-President Sauli Niinisto held what Helsinki described as “constructive” talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the damaged pipeline.
