HONG KONG, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Chinese captain of a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship has pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal damage. This follows claims that his vessel caused damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

Wan Wenguo, 44, is the captain of the container ship NewNew Polar Bear. He is accused of damaging an underwater natural gas pipeline and submarine telecom cables between Finland and Estonia in October 2023, as stated in a Hong Kong charge sheet reviewed by Reuters.

According to the charge sheet, Wan acted “recklessly” and “without lawful excuse damaged the property belonging to another.”

Finnish investigators reported that the container ship dragged its anchor, which severed the Balticconnector gas pipeline. Finnish police later retrieved a broken anchor from the seabed near the pipeline. Technical examinations confirmed that the anchor belonged to the container vessel that was missing one.

Wan's lawyer, Jerry Chung, shared that there will be 18 prosecution witnesses, including crew members, Hong Kong officials, and maritime experts, called to testify. Wan has also pleaded not guilty to two additional charges related to failing to ensure the ship complied with safety requirements under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. The next hearing is scheduled for May 5.

The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert for sabotage after several outages involving power cables, gas pipelines, and telecom links since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NATO has increased its military presence in the area with frigates, aircraft, and naval drones.

When questioned about possible Russian involvement, a prosecution lawyer said there has not been any evidence in court to support such claims. However, Nordic and Baltic authorities have had difficulty proving intent and prosecuting anyone, including Wan, for these incidents.

Finnish state prosecutor Ari-Pekka Koivisto mentioned in an email to Reuters that Finland's request for legal assistance to Hong Kong has not been answered. He also noted that Estonia's request has likely gone unanswered.

The NewNew Polar Bear initially severed three telecom cables, including a Russian cable linking St. Petersburg to the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, as well as two others that connect Estonia to Finland and Sweden from October 7-8, 2023. The ship also hit the gas pipeline while heading to a port near St. Petersburg, Russia.

Estonian police are currently looking into the damage to the country's telecom cables, while the owner of the Russian cable, state company Rostelecom, has stated that it will not seek compensation.

China's foreign ministry has pledged to assist with the investigations in both Finland and Estonia, calling for an objective and fair inquiry.

Ian Chan, a prosecution lawyer for Hong Kong’s Marine Department, mentioned that he has not yet communicated with Finnish or Estonian authorities regarding the case. He also noted that Wan's ship was missing an anchor when it traveled from Russia to China and did not report daily to its shipping company, as required by maritime regulations.