Leaks at Nord Stream pipelines: “Due to intentional acts”

Denmark, Sweden and also Germany: More and more countries are coming to the conclusion that there is a deliberate attack behind the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines. The CIA is said to have warned Berlin of sabotage in the summer.

According to the Danish and Swedish governments, the gas leaks on the Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 are the result of a deliberate act.

The Danish authorities have come to the clear assessment that the acts are intentional and not an accident, said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Several explosions were observed within a short period of time. There is still no information about who is behind it. The incidents occurred in international waters in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden off the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, Frederiksen said.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also spoke of sabotage. Your government is in close contact with its partners in NATO, Denmark and Germany.

Measuring stations had registered seismic activity before the leaks on the two pipelines were discovered near the Danish island of Bornholm. According to a seismologist, this is undoubtedly related to explosions. The seismic data made it clear that the explosions took place in the water and not in the rock beneath the sea floor, said Bjorn Lund, a seismologist at Uppsala University’s Swedish National Seismic Network. So there could be no earthquakes or landslides.

Habeck speaks of a targeted attack

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck also spoke of a targeted attack. We now know for sure “that they were not caused by natural occurrences or events or material fatigue, but that there really were attacks on the infrastructure,” said the Green politician at an event of leading business associations.

Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov was scheduled to travel to Brussels on Wednesday to discuss the leaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He said NATO was monitoring the situation “very closely.” One is in close contact with the NATO allies and Sweden, which wants to become a member of the alliance.

Media report: CIA warned Berlin in the summer

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “We don’t yet know the details of what happened, but we can clearly see that there was an act of sabotage.” The operator of Nord Stream 2 also said: The lines were laid in such a way that it is highly unlikely that several lines would be damaged at the same time, for example by a single ship accident. According to a spokesman, the government in Moscow does not want to rule out any variants.

According to a media report, the United States warned the federal government weeks ago of possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. As the “Spiegel” reports, a corresponding tip from the US secret service CIA was received in Berlin in the summer. A government spokesman told the magazine that “as a general rule, we do not comment publicly on matters relating to any intelligence findings or activities of the intelligence services.”

The Stralsund Mining Authority, which is responsible for the local pipeline sections, meanwhile sees no immediate danger of the situation worsening: “From a technical point of view – according to the current status – it is unlikely that the damage will continue,” said the authority. The pressure in the lines was set to a low level in accordance with the water depth.

Map showing the Nord Stream Pipeline, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Bornholm

Military expert suspects Russian act of sabotage

Norwegian military scientist and naval officer Tor Ivar Strömmen believes Russian sabotage is the most likely explanation for the leaks. “A leak in three different places with such a large distance between them can only be the result of a deliberate act or sabotage,” Strömmen told the AFP news agency.

At the same time, Russia is the only possible person responsible for him. “Leaks in gas pipelines are extremely rare,” Strömmen said. The Nord Stream lines are also quite new, in the case of Nord Stream 2 even very new. The only explanation left is sabotage. “I see only one possible player and that is Russia,” the officer said.

Moscow does not want to take responsibility for stopping its gas supplies. The same pattern could already be observed when the Russian side stopped operating Nord Stream 1 with reference to necessary maintenance work. “The reality is that all of this is about using energy as a weapon,” Strömmen continued. Russia is trying to unsettle European countries. “The aim is to divide Europe and get it to put pressure on Ukraine to get a ceasefire or peace on the terms the Russians want.”

Natural gas price skyrockets

The consequences of the leaks are already being felt on the energy markets. The price of European natural gas has risen significantly and has passed the 200 euro mark.

German and Danish authorities pointed out that the incidents had no impact on the gas supply, as the pipelines had not recently been used for gas imports. While gas was still flowing from Russia to Germany via Nord Stream 1 until a few weeks ago – albeit with reduced capacity – the approval for Nord Stream 2 was put on hold by the federal government shortly before the Russian attack on Ukraine. After that, she had ruled out using it because of the Ukraine war.

The Federal Network Agency pointed out that the filling of the gas storage tanks continues. “The events do not change the supply situation,” said a spokesman. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation see little environmental risk in the short term. DUH Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner called for the remaining natural gas to be pumped out as quickly as possible in order to make repairs possible. You have to talk to Russian authorities about this.