HELSINKI (Reuters) – The investigation into damage to a gas pipeline and telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea is now focusing on the role of a Chinese ship, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday. .
Early on October 8, a gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia were severed, which Finnish investigators believe may have been the result of deliberate sabotage.
“Police established through investigation that the movements of the Hong Kong-flagged ship NewNew Polar Bear coincided with the time and location where the cables were damaged,” the NBI said.
“For this reason, the investigation is now focusing on the role of this vessel,” investigators continued.
In a statement to Reuters on Friday, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said it had contacted China for help in contacting the ship NewNew Polar Bear, named as the subject of the investigation by Finnish police. .
As for Russia, Finland contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry, emphasizing “the seriousness of the matter”, and indicating that an investigation had been launched.
(Report Anna Kauranen, editorial Terje Solsvik, French version Victor Goury-Laffont and Zhifan Liu)
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