The conclusions of the research about the three leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines will take time to arrive because the investigations cannot begin until it is safe to inspect the area. This was explained on Wednesday by the Danish Defense Minister,Morten Bodskov. “It’s going to take time. If you listen to those who know how much gas is in the pipes and how long it will take for the pressure to drop, the reality is that it can take a week or 14 days for the area to be calm enough.” Bødskov told the Danish news agency Ritzau, after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Bødskov has met there with the secretary general of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenbergwho on his Twitter account spoke of “sabotage” and revealed that they had discussed the critical infrastructure protection of the NATO countries.
All three leaks occurred in international waters: two in the Danish exclusive economic zone and one in the Swedish one.
As reported on Wednesday by the Swedish Coast Guard, the gas flow in the area continues with the same strength than yesterday, contrary to what the Danish Directorate General for Energy claims. “A lot of gas continues to come out of the three leaks. It seems that there is a loss of pressure in the pipes and, therefore, less gas comes out than yesterday. And we hope that it will continue to be like that for the next few days,” said the director of that body, Kristoffer Böttzauw.
“Intentional Act”
After refusing to go into speculation at first, Germany finally attributed this Wednesday to a “possible sabotage” the leaks. “The alleged act of sabotage in the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea reminds us once again that we depend on critical infrastructure, also under water” and the damage to said pipelines “also shows us how important it is for the safety of our country and that of our allies a strong navy within a functioning Bundeswehr,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement.
The Danish Prime Ministers, Mette Fredriksenand Swedish, Magdalena Andersonhad pointed out last night that the leaks are the result of a “intentional act“And they ruled out that it could be an accident.
Neither of them wanted to speculate on the possible motive or perpetrator and both highlighted the seriousness of the incident, even though it occurred in international waters, so one cannot speak of a direct attack.
The conclusions of the authorities of both countries, which continue to collect information on the subject, are based above all on the measurements made by their national seismic serviceswhich detected explosions near where the leaks occurred.
Emergency in the electricity and gas sector
Hours before Bødskov’s statements, the Danish Directorate General for Energy raised the emergency in the electricity and gas sectors to the second highest level, which implies that security in plants, buildings and facilities will be increased.
Sweden has also adopted similar measures, as has neighboring Norwaythe main exporter of gas and oil in Western Europe, although it does not have coastal territory in the Baltic.
Related news
The Nord Stream 1 cut off supplies weeks ago after Russia alleged an oil leak at the only Russian compressor station still in operation.
Nord Stream 2 was never operational, as Germany suspended the authorization process following Moscow’s recognition of the self-proclaimed breakaway republics of Donbas.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.