The damage site was located at a depth of 60 metres on the seabed. The repair work was done with remote-controlled equipment rather than by divers.

“Normally, a repair job of this scale would take one to two years. The Balticconnector was repaired in seven months,” marine pipeline maintenance manager Tiit Toomits said in a press release issued by the Estonian grid company Elering.

The likely culprit was a Chinese ship bound for St. Petersburg, which dragged its anchor along the seabed in October lad year, which is why investigators suspect that the Chinese ship broke the gas pipeline.

At a press conference in late October, investigation director Risto Lohi said that the Chinese ship was contacted several times, but that its crew was unwilling to cooperate.