Finnish probe into Balticconnector gas pipe damage should yield results - minister

A Finnish investigation into the damage of the Balticconnector gas pipeline last year has moved forward and is likely to show a conclusion, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Reuters on Thursday. Finnish investigators have concluded the pipeline was likely damaged by an anchor dragged across it. Valtonen said the investigation had moved forward but declined to disclose details.

A Finnish investigation into the damage of the Balticconnector gas pipeline last year has moved forward and is likely to show a conclusion, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Reuters on Thursday. The subsea pipeline between Finland and Estonia and several telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged in October and Finnish police have been investigating whether this damage was caused by a deliberate act or an accident.

"This investigation is unlikely to be inconclusive," Valtonen said in an interview. Finland is cooperating with China to investigate the role of Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel NewNew Polar Bear, which was in the area at the time of the incidents. Finnish investigators have concluded the pipeline was likely damaged by an anchor dragged across it.

Valtonen said the investigation had moved forward but declined to disclose details. "We have had assurance ... from China through diplomatic and other channels that the cooperation is working and that they are committed to it," she said.

Sweden earlier this month ended an investigation into explosions in 2022 on Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, saying it lacked jurisdiction but shared the evidence it found with Germany.

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