Chinese authorities have acknowledged that a Chinese-owned ship damaged a critical Baltic Sea gas pipeline last October after months of investigations and speculations. 

However, the authorities blamed a storm for the costly incident, according to multiple sources.

Beijing conducted an internal investigation and informed European governments of the findings. 

The Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear, owned by mainland Chinese firm NewNew Shipping Line, has been at the center of a joint criminal inquiry by Finland and Estonia since last year for causing damage to critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. 

While China has said it will cooperate with the investigation, the two European nations have urged Beijing to provide more information about the vessel.

"We submitted a legal aid request to the Chinese authorities to gather evidence from the vessel and its crew," a spokeswoman for the Estonian prosecutor, Kairi Kungas said. Kungas added that the Chinese authorities have not provided a response on executing the legal aid request.

Finnish and Estonian authorities allege the ship’s anchor dragged along the seabed, severing the Balticconnector gas pipeline and damaging two undersea telecom cables on Oct. 7 or 8 2023.

A separate Finnish investigation found a “1.5 to 4 meter-wide dragging trail” leading to the damage of the 77-kilometer Balticconnector pipeline, which is a key energy source for Finland.

Despite the Chinese admission, both countries continue with their investigations to determine whether the damage was accidental or intentional. The NewNew Polar Bear has since sailed to Russia and then to China.