Reuters reporting – Estonian prosecutors are focusing on the Hong Kong-registered container ship NewNew Polar Bear in their investigation into the damage of two subsea telecom cables last month. Finnish police also suspect that an anchor found near a damaged gas pipeline may belong to this ship. The ship’s movements on October 7-8 coincide with the time and place of the damages. Estonia has requested legal assistance from China, as the ship is Hong Kong-flagged. NewNew Shipping, the ship’s owner, has not commented on the matter. NATO has increased its Baltic Sea patrols following the incident. Estonia’s prosecutor general believes the damage to cables linking Estonia with Finland and Sweden is connected to the NewNew Polar Bear. Finland’s police found evidence linking the ship’s anchor to the damaged Balticconnector gas pipeline. China has pledged full cooperation with the Finnish investigation. Both the NewNew Polar Bear and Russia-flagged Sevmorput were near the damaged sites at the relevant time, according to MarineTraffic data.
