A Chinese ship captain has been remanded in custody by a Hong Kong court over accusations that his vessel caused serious damage to a key gas pipeline and an underwater communication cable in the Baltic Sea in October 2023.
Wan Wenguo, aged 43, was the captain of the NewNew Polar Bear, a container ship flying the Hong Kong flag and owned by a Chinese company.
He appeared in Eastern Court in Hong Kong on Thursday, where he was charged with one count of criminal damage and two charges related to marine safety violations under Hong Kong laws.
The charges follow an incident on October 8, 2023, when the NewNew Polar Bear damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a nearby telecoms cable while passing through the Gulf of Finland.
The Balticconnector, a 77-kilometre pipeline, is a critical natural gas link between Estonia and Finland. The pipeline damage occurred within Finland’s economic zone, while the
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