Update: China reportedly acknowledges Chinese-owned box ship damaged Balticconnector pipeline

A report published in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post in mid-August said a Chinese investigation had acknowledged a Chinese-owned vessel had damaged the European energy infrastructure known as the Balticconnector gas pipeline that runs from Estonia to Finland under the Baltic Sea.

The investigation determined the incident was an accident, and the result of a strong storm, the newspaper said.

Chinese authorities have reportedly passed on the findings to Finland and Estonia, which are conducting criminal probes into incident involving 1,638-TEU Handysize container ship NewNew Polar Bear, owned by Chinese-registered NewNew Shipping Line. According to the report, China has not yet acted on requests for formal legal aid in the investigation. 

25 April 2024

Finnish state-owned natural gas transmission system operator Gasgrid has confirmed the 2.6 bcm/year Balticconnector subsea gas pipeline, linking Finland and Estonia, has resumed commercial operations, seven months after being severely damaged by a vessel anchor in early October 2023.

The Balticconnector is an 80-km undersea gas pipeline that runs from Paldiski, Estonia to Inkoo, Finland. The pipeline is jointly operated by Estonian electricity and gas system operator Elering and Finland’s Gasgrid. The gas pipeline has an original northbound capacity ranging from 55 to 60 GWh/d in winter and 65 GWh/d in summer. Gasgrid aims to increase the Estonia-Finland gas flows to 70.5 GWh/d by the end of 2024. The gas pipeline can also export 78 GWh/d of gas from Finland to Estonia. 

"The pipeline is of critical importance for the gas supply of both countries, particularly since Russia’s Gazprom cut gas supplies to Finland in May 2022," Gasgrid said in a statement announcing the restart of operations for the pipeline.

Gasgrid Finland and the Estonian gas transmission system operator Elering first issued a statement on the possibility of damage to the Balticconnector pipeline in the early hours of 8 October 2023 following an unusual drop in pressure in the offshore section of the gas pipeline that connects the natural gas networks of Finland and Estonia.

Gasgrid Finland and Elering said they believed the unusual drop in pressure was caused by an incident or damage to the offshore gas pipeline and a resulting leak. The gas leak caused by the suspected damage to the pipeline was stopped once the pipe section was isolated, and the valves closed. Following the incident, gas transmission between Finland and Estonia has been halted. 

On 10 October, Finland president, Sauli Niinisto, said in a statement, "It is likely that damage to both the gas pipeline and the communication cable is the result of outside activity. The cause of the damage is not yet clear; the investigation continues in co-operation between Finland and Estonia."

President Niinisto told Reuters he had spoken with NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and that NATO is ready to assist in the investigation into the incident.

Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told Reuters on 11 October the damage to the pipeline was caused by "quite heavy force" and it seemed to have been caused by "mechanical impact".

The damage to the Balticconnector pipeline came a year after damage was found to the Nord Stream gas pipeline, following underwater explosions.

Russia was an immediate target of speculation as to who may have tampered with Nord Stream but has denied responsibility. Officials in the US and in Germany were quoted in media reports as saying some of the evidence may point to a Ukraine-linked group, but the investigation remains unsolved.