OSLO (Reuters) – Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo on Tuesday said China was cooperating in the Finnish investigation of the Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear vessel’s role in the Oct. 8 damage to the Balticconnector pipeline.
Finnish police leading the pipeline investigation have named the NewNew Polar Bear container carrier as the prime suspect in damaging the gas pipeline early on Oct. 8, and said it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act.
A large anchor, believed to belong to the NewNew Polar Bear, was found near the pipeline, and the investigators said the pipe was likely broken as it was dragged across the sea bed.
“We have opened diplomatic discussions with the Chinese and also we have started cooperation with Chinese authorities. And they have promised, and they have said, that they want to do cooperation,” Petteri Orpo told reporters in Oslo.
“We are starting to work together. And the next few days I think (will) show how it goes. But now we have to be patient. We have to get a clear picture of what has happened before (drawing) any conclusions.”
China has said it was willing to provide the necessary information in accordance with international law.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)
