STOCKHOLM, October 31. /TASS/. Finland has started cooperation with China to establish the role of the Chinese vessel Newnew Polar Bear in the damage to the Balticconnector pipeline, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters in Oslo.
"We have opened diplomatic discussions with the Chinese and also we have started cooperation with the Chinese authorities. And they have promised, and they have said, that they want to do cooperation," Petteri Orpo said as quoted by Reuters.
Orpo also noted that the first results of cooperation would be presented over the next days.
"But now we have to be patient. We have to get a clear picture of what has happened before (drawing) any conclusions," the Finnish Prime Minister said.
The Chinese side promised to provide the necessary information in accordance with international law, Reuters noted
Finnish gas pipeline operator Gasgrid reported on Tuesday that it had completed an inspection of Balticconnector and found no other damage than the one that had been initially recorded.
Earlier, Finnish police said that the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear may have played a role in the damage to the Balticconnector. However, it is not yet clear whether its actions were intentional or an accident. Reuters recalls that an anchor, likely belonging to this vessel, was found near the site of the leak. Presumably, the pipe was broken as the anchor was dragged across the sea bed.it could have caught the pipeline and caused damage to the infrastructure.
On October 23, Reuters reported citing an unnamed representative of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, that Estonia had also contacted Chinese representatives to jointly investigate damage to the pipeline and telecommunications cables.
About damage to pipeline, cables
Operations on the Balticconnector underwater gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia were suspended due to a suspected leak. Finnish authorities said at a press conference on October 10 that the damage to the gas pipeline, discovered early on the morning of October 9, was likely the result of external interference. The operation of the underwater communication cable, which runs near the gas pipeline, was also disrupted. Its damage was discovered around the same time as the Balticconnector leak.
On October 17, Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin announced damage to the undersea telecommunication cable running between Estonia and Sweden. Later, the SVT television channel reported citing data from the Estonian police that its damage was of a mechanical nature. According to preliminary assessment, it is associated with damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and the fiber optic cable between Finland and Estonia. Based on this, it is concluded that all these damages are of the same nature.