Gas pipeline damage inspection done, results underway

The inspection to the damage of Balticconnector, the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was completed during the last weekend and the analysis of the results is underway, said the state-owned company and transmission system operator Gasgrid Finland in a press release on Tuesday.

The earliest possible commissioning date of the Balticconnector pipeline would be at the beginning of April 2024 as the repairing works of the Balticconnector, which was damaged on October 8 will take at least five months as it was estimated earlier.

Based on preliminary expert assessments, it is assumed that the planning of the repair work, the mobilization of the necessary underwater equipment and the actual repair measures, including the inspection of the repaired pipeline and commissioning, will last at least five months.

Earlier on October 24, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that a Hong Kong flag carrier vessel Newnew Polar Bear of a Chinese shipping company is believed to have caused the damage to the Balticconnector, the undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.

The natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was temporarily closed on Sunday afternoon following a suspected leak on October 8.

On October 10, the authority said that the damage to the Baltic Connector gas pipeline and a data cable between Finland and Estonia was likely caused by an external actor, not caused by the normal gas transmission process.

Finland and Estonia are jointly investigating into the damage to the Baltic Connector gas pipeline and a data cable between the two countries.

The repairing works of the Baltic Connector gas pipeline will take at least five months.

Earlier on October 20, the National Bureau of Investigation announced that it will examine if the object found in the seabed has any connection to the damage of the undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.