Nord Stream warns of “unprecedented” pipeline damage in Baltic Sea

• Three leaks have been found in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.
• Vessels have been told to stay at least 5 miles away from the leaks.
• The pipeline hasn’t been used since the Ukraine war, when the German government stopped it from being used.

The company that runs the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany said that the pipeline system under the Baltic Sea got “unprecedented” damage in just one day, According to Reuters.

“The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented. It is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure,” Nord Stream AG said, Reuters reported.

Due to an oil leak at one of its compressor stations, Russia stopped sending gas to Europe through Nord Stream 1 for good in September.

On Tuesday, the Swedish Maritime Authority told CNN that three leaks had been found in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm.

The authority has told ships to stay at least 8 kilometres (5 miles) away from the leaks and told planes to stay at least 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) above the water (approximately 0.62 miles). A spokesperson said that the first leak was reported Monday afternoon, and two more were found Monday night.

The spokesperson said that they hadn’t looked into why the leaks were happening and didn’t know if Nord Stream had talked to the maritime authority. They said that it was their job to let ships know about the leak.

The Danish Prime Minister, meanwhile, said that the leaks were “very concerning” and that they showed how important it was to improve energy security in Europe.

Mette Frederiksen was speaking at an event in Szczecin, Poland, to celebrate the opening of a gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea.

On Monday, Nord Stream AG said it was looking into why the pressure in the pipeline had dropped. German officials also said that the pressure in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany had gone down. The pipeline hasn’t been used since the Ukraine war, when the German government stopped it from being used.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said on Tuesday that the news made them “extremely worried.” Peskov said, when asked if it could have been an act of sabotage: “Right now, there is no way to say that something won’t happen. There is some damage to the pipe, and we don’t know what caused it yet, so we can’t rule out anything until the research is done.”

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