Estonia's Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said Tuesday that the damage was inflicted deliberately;  a cable belonging to Estonian telecommunications company Elisa was also damaged at around the same time.

Cdre Saska gave the following interview to ERR.

What has the Estonian Navy been doing in relation to the incident?

We have been in very close cooperation with Finland's Navy, since Monday morning. Work has been divided up so that the Finnish side has primarily been dealing with the inspection of Balticconnector, since the damage is likely in Finland's territorial waters, while we in Estonia have mainly focused on the Elisa communication cable.

What is the basis for the assumption that the Balticconnector damage site lies in Finnish waters?

These calculations were made by [Estonian grid distributor] Elering. Whereas the normal pipeline gas pressure stood at around 40 atmospheres (atm) so far as I understand, this rapidly dropped to 6 atm, meaning there could have been a rupture, while the internal pressure of the gas pipe and that of the water on the seabed equalized, which suggested [the rupture point is at] a depth of 60 meters.

These calculations were made by [Estonian grid distributor] Elering. Whereas the normal pipeline gas pressure stood at around 40 atmospheres (atm) so far as I understand, this rapidly dropped to 6 atm, meaning there could have been a rupture, while the internal pressure of the gas pipe and that of the water on the seabed equalized, which suggested [the rupture point is at] a depth of 60 meters.

Then they started [the search] by locating points of 60 meters in depth from the overall chart.

Is 60 meters the deepest point at which this pipeline is located?

It is not the deepest point, but since this equalization of pressure took place at around 60 meters, this indicates this could be at around that point, and it was more or less exactly the case also.

Could you now outline a little how exactly this communication cable break arose?

The first indication of the incident reached us from Balticconnector, when Elering contacted us and said that the pressure in the pipeline had dropped sharply, and that they had closed off the pipeline; they had then started to deal with the situation by contacting the Finnish Navy. That was where the information that Elisa's cable was also damaged came from.

When did the breakage in the Elisa cable take place?

This came more-or-less in the same time frame [as the pipeline rupture], within about two hours.

Are these events certainly related, in that they could have been carried out by the same hit?

This is possible, but at the current stage of the investigation, this is pure speculation, as we do not yet know exactly where the cable is broken.

However, on what basis have you made this assessment that the damage to the cable lies on the Estonian side [of the Gulf]?

We had been observing the shipping traffic that night, and Elisa had also given an indication that it might be there, though I really can't answer how Elisa measures that.

As for the hole in the gas pipeline that you have observed there – or otherwise how did you come to describe it as having been mechanically caused, and not by a diver?

If I now try to relate what I have seen without having the example to hand; the pipe itself is encased in concrete, while it looks just as if this was torn away on one side and the concrete has broken or peeled off, specifically at that rupture point. Whether this damage is only at that spot or [the pipeline] has been further damaged due to a lateral force is again something for the investigators to establish and answer.

So it looks like the pipe is ruptured on both sides?

No, it still looks like it was rent from the one side, a bit like a hosepipe getting stuck behind your leg, then you've dragged it behind you.

Does the navy have to do anything more here, or is it now solely something for the Finns?

We remain in close contact with Finland. The rest of the pipe also needs to be inspected, which is a comparatively simple task, since it at many points lies on the surface of the seabed, as it were, i.e. it is much better, visually speaking. The cable, however, is partly buried as it is much thinner in diameter, anchored and therefore also gets partly subsumed by seabed layers.  For this reason, tracking and locating the cable is somewhat more challenging. We will continue to work around the pipeline and to find out, in cooperation with the Finns, once and for all the point of damage of the cable.

Is the current assumption that the pipeline could be ruptured at a further point?

It is hard to say; this would be speculation. However, the thinking is that since it is made of steel and has been dragged so far out of its position, there may, or may not, be further damage.  This is the expert opinion; I wouldn't sit in judgment on it.

You've seen all kinds of things in your experience. What do you think could have caused the damages, or what are the possible scenarios – an external, mechanical force? Perhaps an anchor on the seabed?

Again, I'm not going to be drawn into speculation.  In any event, something has torn asunder this pipeline, from one side to the other.

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