Finland says gas pipeline damage probably caused by dragging anchor

A Finnish Border Guard's photo of an anchor that may have damaged the pipeline

Finnish police have said that the rupture of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea was probably caused by an anchor dragging along the seabed.

Finnish police said they found an anchor near the pipeline and are investigating if it was an accident.

Authorities initially suspected the damage was deliberately caused by Russia, possibly as "retribution" for Finland joining Nato.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin denied the accusation.

Police said that broad drag marks were visible on the seabed leading to where the pipeline was ruptured, and the anchor was lying just beyond the damaged spot.

A piece of the anchor - one of its two spikes - had broken off, they added.

Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday that they were now focusing their probe on the Chinese NewNew Polar Bear container vessel, which had passed over the pipeline around the time of the damage.

Earlier today, the NBI said they had confirmed that the NewNew Polar Bear was indeed missing an anchor.

They added that they have unsuccessfully tried to contact the vessel to see whether the recently-found anchor belonged to the ship.

The Baltic-connector is an underwater natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.

It shut down earlier this month after a sudden drop in pressure, and authorities said at the time that the pipeline and a telecoms cable had been damaged in two places by an external mechanical force.

The pipeline has been the only channel through which Finland could import natural gas since Russian imports were halted in May last year, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Natural gas accounts for about 5% of Finland's energy consumption.