Sweden sends a diving vessel to inspect Nord Stream pipelines

• The Nord Stream pipeline, which goes from Russia to Germany, has been at the centre of a growing gas supply crisis in Europe.
• The Swedish coast guard says that Nord Stream 1 is no longer leaking, but gas is still leaking from Nord Stream 2.
• Gazprom, says that flows could start up again at the last remaining intact pipeline in the Nord Stream 2 network.

Sweden sent a diving ship to the place where Russian gas pipelines broke last week after explosions in the area. This is part of an investigation into an event that has made Europe’s energy crisis even worse.

Europe is looking into what caused three pipelines in the Nord Stream network to burst near Swedish and Danish waters. This was thought to be an act of sabotage, and Moscow quickly tried to blame the West, saying that the US stood to gain.

The Nord Stream pipeline, which goes from Russia to Germany, has been at the centre of a growing gas supply crisis in Europe. Until recently, a lot of Europe’s gas came from Russia, which drove up prices.

Several countries in the European Union have started emergency plans that could lead to rationing as they try to find other sources of gas. The regulator said Britain now faces a “significant risk” of running out of gas this winter.

“The coast guard is responsible for the mission, but we are supporting them with units,” a spokesperson for the Swedish navy, Jimmie Adamsson, told Reuters. “The only one we are naming is HMS Belos, which is a submarine rescue and diving vessel.”

The Swedish coast guard said that Nord Stream 1 was no longer leaking, but an overflight showed that gas was still leaking out of Nord Stream 2 and bubbling to the surface in an area 30 metres (32 yards) wide.

On Monday, the Kremlin said that the West was still to blame for the ruptures and that the US was able to increase sales and prices of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) because of this.

Washington has said that it had nothing to do with it. European countries think there has been sabotage, but they haven’t said who might be behind it.

Gazprom which is controlled by the Kremlin, also said that flows could start up again at the last remaining intact pipeline in the Nord Stream 2 network. This is probably not going to happen, since Europe shut down Nord Stream 2 before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Gazprom said, “If it is decided to start sending gas through Nord Stream 2’s line B, natural gas will be pumped into the pipeline after the integrity of the system has been checked and confirmed by regulatory authorities.”

The idea comes after Russia’s deputy prime minister said on Sunday that the Nord Stream pipeline could be fixed if there was enough time and money.

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