The captain of the Hong Kong-registered containership, Newnew Polar Bear, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the 2023 damage of undersea telecom cables and the Balticconnector gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
Captain Wan Wenguo, a 44-year-old Chinese national, entered the plea in a Hong Kong court on Wednesday.
He is facing a charge of reckless operation of the vessel and two additional charges related to safety violations. One relates to operating the ship without an anchor and not reporting the loss of the anchor and the other relates to not filing regular reports with the shipowner. Wan entered a plea of not guilty to each count.
The incident occurred in October 2023 when the Newew Polar Bear was on a historic first Chinese container voyage via the Northern Sea Route, from China to Saint Petersburg, Russia, and back. Finnish and Estonian investigations identified the vessel after recovering an anchor from the seabed with drag marks matching the ship's missing bow anchor.
Damage affected a Russian communications cable, two cables between Estonia and Finland on October 7, and the Baltic connector gas pipeline the following day.
Chinese authorities promised cooperation following identification by Finnish prosecutors.
Wan made his first court appearance in January 2025 when the defence requested more time to review evidence.
The Chinese defence lawyer said last month that they were expecting 18 witnesses to appear, including members of the vessel’s crew, Hong Kong officials, and maritime experts.
Finnish prosecutors told Reuters that China had not responded to outreach from their office or from Estonia.
Proving intent remains a key challenge in such cases involving subsea Baltic infrastructure damage.
In another matter, Finland prosecuted the captain and two officers of the shadow fleet tanker Eagle S on similar charges. The defence argued that it was an operational issue, with the crew unaware of anchor dragging. A Helsinki court dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, ruling that the damage occurred in international waters.
Wan is expected back in court on May 5, The Maritime Executive reports.
