Captain pleads not guilty to infrastructure damage
The Baltic Sea cable damage case involving the Hong Kong-registered container ship NewNew Polar Bear has entered a new judicial phase. On February 11, Captain Wan Wenguo, 44, pleaded not guilty before a Hong Kong court to charges linked to damage to subsea infrastructure in October 2023. Finnish and Estonian investigators allege the vessel dragged its anchor across the Gulf of Finland, cutting telecom cables before striking the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. A broken anchor was later recovered from the seabed and matched to the ship, which was reportedly missing its bow anchor during its voyage between China and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Legal hurdles and regional security concerns
Wan faces one criminal damage count and two safety-related charges under the SOLAS convention, including operating without an anchor and failing to report it. The next hearing is set for May 5, with 18 witnesses expected, including crew members and maritime experts. The damaged links include a Russian cable connecting Saint Petersburg to Kaliningrad, as well as cables between Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The owner of the Russian cable, state-controlled Rostelecom, has indicated it will not seek compensation. Finnish and Estonian authorities have reported that requests for legal assistance sent to Hong Kong remain unanswered, limiting cooperation. Across the Baltic Sea region, officials continue to stress the difficulty of proving intent in such subsea incidents. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, patrols and NATO support have increased to better protect critical maritime infrastructure.
As a related read, you may also refer to our coverage of recent anchor-dragging investigations in the Gulf of Finland, or to other reporting on the growing protection of undersea cables and pipelines in Northern Europe :
You may also read detailed reporting on this case by Reuters, which has closely followed the developments surrounding the NewNew Polar Bear and the Baltic Sea infrastructure damage.
