A series of unusual leaks in two gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea raises concerns about sabotage. Sudden and unexplained gas leaks discovered in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany have prompted European countries to investigate the cause amid fears of sabotage.
Denmark’s armed forces released video on Tuesday showing bubbles rushing to the surface of the Baltic Sea above the pipelines, and the largest gas leak caused surface disturbances measuring more than one kilometre in diameter.
Plunging Russian gas supplies have driven up prices in Europe, where countries have struggled to find alternative sources of energy to heat homes, generate electricity, and power factories.
The leaks overshadow the long-awaited Baltic pipeline, which will bring Norwegian gas to Poland, bolstering Europe’s energy independence from Moscow.
An abrupt reduction in pressure was recorded by the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline’s operator overnight on Monday, and a spokeswoman hinted that there may have been a leak. After that, the Danish Energy Authority declared that one of the two Nord Stream 2 pipes that were in Danish waters had probably experienced a leak.
A short while afterwards, Nord Stream AG, the owner of another undersea gas pipeline connecting Germany and Russia, declared it was investigating a decrease in pressure in Nord Stream 1.
In Danish and Swedish waters, two leaks on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were reported, according to Sweden’s Maritime Administration on Tuesday.
The timing of the leaks, according to Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher at the Royal Danish Defence College’s Center for Maritime Operations, was “conspicuous” given the opening ceremony for the Baltic Pipe, a new system that would transport gas from Norway to Poland. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which ceased supplying gas to Europe last month, has two leaks that were both found to be in the northeastern region of the Danish island of Bornholm. Although neither pipeline is supplying gasoline to Europe, both still have gas under pressure in them.
It is still unclear. These breaches are incredibly uncommon, according to analysts and specialists, and Nord Stream AG has labelled leaks on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines as “unprecedented.”
Technical issues, a lack of maintenance, and even sabotage are all potential causes.
According to Peter Schmidt, a seismologist at Uppsala University, two “large releases of energy” were detected by the Swedish National Seismic Network both prior to and close to the gas leaks.
The disclosures, according to Ukraine, were most likely caused by a “terrorist attack” by Moscow.
