Captain of ship that damaged Baltic Sea cable arrested and jailed in Hong Kong

The captain of a ship that caused damage to a subsea gas pipeline running between Finland and Estonia two years ago has been arrested over the incident and remanded in custody in Hong Kong.

Wan Wenguo, 43, has been charged with criminal damage and with violating Hong Kong’s maritime bylaws, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Back in October 2023, the vessel under Wan’s command, the Hong Kong-flagged Newnew Polar Bear, damaged the Balticonnector pipeline and a nearby telecommunications cable by dragging its anchor along the seafloor.

Wan is individually being held liable for damaging the 77 km (48 mile) Balticconnector gas pipeline, which had only entered into operation in 2020 to connect the Estonian and Finnish gas grids.

The defendant did not make a bail application during his court appearance on Thursday.  He is being prosecuted under ordinances that allow for the Hong Kong prosecutors to bring charges against anyone suspected of committing an offence aboard a Hong Kong-flagged vessel.

The Balticonnector pipeline was shut after the network operators spotted an unusual drop in pressure in the early morning of October 8, although no explosion was detected by regional seismologists as had been identified in an incident affecting the Nord Stream pipeline a year earlier.

A Finnish investigation into the damage found a dragging trail on the seabed leading to the point of damage in the gas pipeline and a detached anchor.

It was the first of a series of recent submarine cable breaks in the Baltic Sea that has alarmed onlookers who fear the incidents are part of a Russian sabotage campaign.

Despite these concerns, officials previously told Recorded Future News there is increasing confidence among European governments that the incidents were accidental and not directed by the Kremlin.