In October 2023, an undersea natural gas pipeline and communication cable connecting Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea were suspected to have been damaged by an anchor, allegedly related to the Hong Kong-registered container ship “SS Arctic Bear.” The mainland ship captain involved was charged with criminal damage and faced two violations of the Merchant Shipping Safety Regulations.
The case was heard again in the Eastern District Court of Hong Kong on December 8. The judge, Zhang Zhiwei, adjourned the case to January 20 next year for further hearing, with the defendant remaining in custody during this period.
The defendant, Wan Wenguo (43 years old, claiming to be the ship captain), was accused of damaging property of others illegally while commanding the Hong Kong-registered cargo ship “SS Arctic Bear” in the Gulf of Finland at around 2 a.m. on October 8, 2023 (Finnish time on the ship), which was 7 a.m. Hong Kong time on the same day. The property damaged included a natural gas pipeline and undersea telecommunication cable between Finland and Estonia, regardless of the potential destruction or damage to the property.
The two charges filed by the Maritime Department for failing to ensure that the vessel complied with the specified cargo ship additional requirements alleged that the defendant, as the captain of the SS Arctic Bear, violated Chapter 369S from October 11 to December 6, 2023, by insufficiently anchoring the ship heading from Russia to China, and from October 28 to November 3 of the same year failed to submit daily reports to the company as required by Annex V, Regulation 28(2) of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
The prosecution stated in court that the defendant had legal representation only for the criminal damage charge and not for the two summonses. Judge Zhang suggested that if the background of the two summons charges was similar to the criminal damage case, the duty lawyer could consider representing the defendant after seeking instructions.
Moreover, the defendant expressed intentions to admit guilt to the two summons charges on that day. Judge Zhang noted that if the defendant only admitted to the summonses while denying the criminal damage charge, there might be conflicts that require legal assistance, and plea bargaining would still need to be arranged. Eventually, Judge Zhang adjourned the case for further hearing on January 20 next year.
According to the investigation by the Finnish government, the anchor of the “SS Arctic Bear” dragged hundreds of kilometers on the seabed of the Baltic Sea, resulting in the cutting of the cables and the Balticconnector gas pipeline, with a recovered anchor weighing 6,000 kilograms a few meters from the incident location.
Nearly a year later, in August 2024, the Chinese official acknowledgment declared that the gas pipeline fracture was caused by a Chinese ship, attributing it to “an accident.”
European media reported that the repair of the Baltic Sea connector pipeline has cost 35 million euros. So far, China has not taken responsibility for this expense.