Finland and Estonia remain silent on reports regarding the role of a Chinese ship in damaging the Balticconnector pipeline in the Baltic Sea last autumn.
The investigations in the case are not yet complete, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal said in Helsinki on Wednesday.
They said that no conclusions could be drawn at this time.
Previously, the Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese authorities had concluded that a Chinese freighter was responsible for the pipeline leak. According to the report, it was an accident that occurred during a severe storm.
The Balticconnector runs between Finland and Estonia in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea.
The operating companies noticed a sudden drop in pressure in the gas pipeline on October 8, 2023.
The gas supply was subsequently interrupted, and the pipeline has been out of operation since then. The cause of the incident has not yet been clarified.
During their investigations, the investigators found an anchor on the seabed and expressed the suspicion that it belonged to the freighter NewNew Polar Bear and had probably caused the damage.
The container ship sails under the flag of Hong Kong and is owned by a Chinese shipping company.
