Since the pipeline between Finland and Estonia was closed on Sunday due to a drop in pressure, investigators have been puzzling over the cause. The Finnish police now explained that the reason was not an explosion, but rather a “mechanical force”.
According to the Finnish authorities, the problems on the gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland are apparently not due to an explosion. “The damage appears to have been caused by a mechanical force, not an explosion,” said police representative Risto Lohi.
Even if mechanical influence was detected, “nothing can be ruled out,” Lohi added, referring to the exact cause of the leak. The authorities rejected speculation about the possible nature of the force.
“External influence” determined
Helsinki said on Tuesday that the damage to the pipeline called Balticconnector was almost certainly caused by “external influences”. “It is likely that the damage to both the gas pipeline and the telecommunications cable is the result of external influences,” said Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
After several explosions on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines 1 and 2 more than a year ago, there was speculation about a deliberate attack on Balticconnector.
Damage to crucial infrastructure, “which was most likely caused intentionally, is a very serious matter,” said the head of the emergency response agency, Janne Känkänen. According to the operator, repairs to the pipeline will take at least five months. The Finnish state-owned company Gasgrid announced this “based on preliminary expert assessments”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured the two alliance members Finland and Estonia support if it turns out that the damage to the pipeline was a “deliberate attack”.
Closing due to loss of pressure
The pipeline transports gas from Estonia to Finland and was closed on Sunday due to a drop in pressure. It was put into operation in 2019 and has been the only pipeline through which Finland has been able to import gas since natural gas imports from Russia were stopped in May 2022 as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine.
After shutting down the pipeline, Gasgrid said the country’s gas supply was not at risk, citing supplies from the liquid gas terminal in Inkoo, southern Finland. Natural gas makes up about five percent of Finland’s energy supply and is used mainly by industry and for cogeneration.