Hong Kong Court Hears Case of Chinese Captain Linked to Baltic Sea Cable Incident

HONG KONG, July 4 (Reuters) – A recent report from Reuters reveals that the captain of a Hong Kong-registered vessel, implicated in damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, has been appointed a lawyer by a Hong Kong court. The case has been postponed until September to give prosecutors time to collect additional evidence.

Wan Wenguo, who commands the container ship NewNew Polar Bear, appeared at the Eastern magistrates’ court without legal counsel and was afterward assigned a duty lawyer. The 43-year-old Chinese national faces allegations of “criminal damage” related to an underwater natural gas pipeline and submarine telecom cables connecting Finland and Estonia on October 8, 2023. According to court documents reviewed by Reuters, he is accused of having “recklessly damaged property belonging to another.”

The magistrate decided to delay proceedings for three months until September 26 after prosecutors indicated they needed more time to obtain relevant documents from Finnish and Estonian authorities. In addition to these charges, Wan is also facing two counts related to violations of maritime regulations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. During his initial hearing in May following his arrest,he opted not to seek bail and remained in custody; this trend continued during Friday’s session.

The Baltic Sea area has heightened its vigilance against potential sabotage due to several incidents involving power cables and pipelines since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022. Various European nations have pointed fingers at Russia for alleged hybrid warfare tactics targeting critical infrastructure; however, Moscow refutes these accusations as Western propaganda aimed at undermining Russian interests.

Finnish officials claim that Wan’s vessel severed the Balticconnector subsea gas pipeline—an essential link between Finland and Estonia—by dragging its anchor across the seabed. simultaneously occurring,Estonian authorities suspect that prior damage occurred on telecom cables linking Estonia with Sweden around October 7-8 before hitting the gas pipeline while en route toward Saint Petersburg in Russia.

Despite ongoing investigations by Finnish and Estonian authorities into whether this damage was accidental or intentional, no definitive conclusions have yet emerged regarding their findings.