Chinese captain pleads not guilty to charges

The Chinese captain of a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a charge of criminal damage, following allegations that his vessel damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.



Wan Wenguo, ⁠44, the captain of the container ship NewNew Polar Bear, is alleged to have damaged an underwater natural gas pipeline and submarine telecom cables between Finland and Estonia on October 8, 2023, according to a Hong Kong charge sheet reviewed by Reuters.



The charge sheet stated that Wan had been "reckless" and "without lawful excuse damaged the property belonging to another".



Finnish investigators said the container vessel had dragged its anchor to sever the Balticconnector gas pipeline.



Finnish police later retrieved a broken anchor from the seabed near the pipeline, and technical examinations showed it belonged to the container vessel that was missing a front anchor.



A lawyer for Wan,, earlier said 18 prosecution witnesses would be called to testify in the case that includes one charge of criminal damage, as well as two charges of failing to ensure the ship complied with safety requirements under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.