Chinese Ship Captain Denies Charges Over Damage to Baltic Sea Gas Pipeline and Cables in Hong Kong Court
Captain of Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear enters not guilty plea to criminal damage and safety charges related to 2023 Balticconnector incident
A Chinese sea captain standing trial in Hong Kong has formally pleaded not guilty to criminal damage and maritime safety charges connected to the 2023 damage of critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
Wan Wenguo, commander of the Hong Kong-registered container vessel NewNew Polar Bear, appeared in Eastern Court on Wednesday and rejected allegations that his vessel severed a key natural gas pipeline and nearby submarine telecommunications cables linking Finland and Estonia.
Prosecutors allege that in October 2023 the ship’s anchor dragged along the seabed in the Gulf of Finland, cutting the Balticconnector gas pipeline — a vital link for regional energy supplies — and damaging associated communications lines.
Finnish authorities, which investigated the incident, identified the vessel and later recovered an anchor from the pipeline area that they matched to the NewNew Polar Bear, although it has not been established whether the damage was deliberate or accidental.
The case has drawn international attention given its implications for undersea infrastructure security in a region already on alert following multiple subsea outages in recent years.
In addition to the criminal damage charge, Wan also denied two summary offences under Hong Kong’s Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance for allegedly breaching navigation and safety regulations, including failing to report the loss of an anchor and not submitting required daily reports to the vessel’s owner during the relevant voyage.
Around eighteen prosecution witnesses are expected to testify during the proceedings, including crew members, maritime experts and Hong Kong officials, with technical evidence likely to play a central role in establishing responsibility and causation in relation to the infrastructure damage.
Wan’s defence team indicated it would contest the captain’s liability, challenge aspects of crew testimonies and scrutinise operational evidence relating to the ship’s movements.
The trial is being held in Hong Kong due to the vessel’s registration there, consistent with maritime legal practice that follows the flag state for jurisdiction over such cases.
The next hearing and further procedural steps are expected as the court continues its assessment of the complex technical and legal issues involved.
Wan Wenguo, commander of the Hong Kong-registered container vessel NewNew Polar Bear, appeared in Eastern Court on Wednesday and rejected allegations that his vessel severed a key natural gas pipeline and nearby submarine telecommunications cables linking Finland and Estonia.
Prosecutors allege that in October 2023 the ship’s anchor dragged along the seabed in the Gulf of Finland, cutting the Balticconnector gas pipeline — a vital link for regional energy supplies — and damaging associated communications lines.
Finnish authorities, which investigated the incident, identified the vessel and later recovered an anchor from the pipeline area that they matched to the NewNew Polar Bear, although it has not been established whether the damage was deliberate or accidental.
The case has drawn international attention given its implications for undersea infrastructure security in a region already on alert following multiple subsea outages in recent years.
In addition to the criminal damage charge, Wan also denied two summary offences under Hong Kong’s Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance for allegedly breaching navigation and safety regulations, including failing to report the loss of an anchor and not submitting required daily reports to the vessel’s owner during the relevant voyage.
Around eighteen prosecution witnesses are expected to testify during the proceedings, including crew members, maritime experts and Hong Kong officials, with technical evidence likely to play a central role in establishing responsibility and causation in relation to the infrastructure damage.
Wan’s defence team indicated it would contest the captain’s liability, challenge aspects of crew testimonies and scrutinise operational evidence relating to the ship’s movements.
The trial is being held in Hong Kong due to the vessel’s registration there, consistent with maritime legal practice that follows the flag state for jurisdiction over such cases.
The next hearing and further procedural steps are expected as the court continues its assessment of the complex technical and legal issues involved.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
