Two underwater explosions were reported Tuesday in the Baltic Sea off Denmark before the discovery of three leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Europe.amid cross-accusations of responsibilities and suspicions of sabotage due to the leaks.
The Swedish Seismological Institute reported Tuesday that it recorded two massive energy releases shortly before and near the site of the gas leaks off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm, Peter Schmidt, a seismologist from the network, told the AFP news agency. national.
“We interpret it as coming, with a very high probability, from some kind of detonation”said Schmidt, who explained that these energy releases were very sudden. “The first occurred at 2:03 local time (21:03 Argentine time on Sunday) just southeast of Bornholm, with a magnitude of 1.9. Then we observed another at 19:04 this Monday (14:04 of Argentina), another incident a little further north that seems to have been somewhat more powerful. We calculate a magnitude of 2.3”said the seismologist. The Norwegian seismic network (Norsar) also confirmed having recorded a smaller explosion in the early hours of Monday, followed by another more powerful one that same day.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines have been the focus of geopolitical tension in recent months in Europe, since Russia cut off its supply to Europe in response to Western sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. The two gas pipelines, managed by a consortium majority owned by the state-owned Russian energy group Gazprom, are not currently operating. However, both still contain gas, which has been leaking since Monday.
In some photos taken by the Danish army on Tuesday, large bubbles could be seen on the surface of the water, emanating from three leaks located in the waters of Sweden and Denmark, with diameters between 200 and 1,000 meters.
For its part, the operating company of the submarine gas pipelines refused to give an estimated date of when it could solve the damage that occurred simultaneously in three pipes of the system. “The destructions that occurred on the same day, simultaneously, in three strings of offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system are unprecedented. It is not yet possible to estimate the timetable for the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure,” declared the Nord Stream AG company. based in Zug, Switzerland.
Cross complaints
Russia does not rule out hypotheses regarding the causes of the leaks. “At this time we cannot rule out any hypotheses. “What is evident is that the pipes have been damaged and no variant can be ruled out until we have the results of the inspections,” Russian spokesman Dmitri Peskov said. The spokesman described as alarming the information about the leaks in the two gas pipelines and pointed out that the Russian Government demanded an immediate investigation of the causes of what happened, the Russian news agency reported. Sputnik.
For its part, Ukraine assured on Tuesday that these leaks were probably caused by a terrorist attack planned by Moscow against the European Union (EU). “The large-scale Nord Stream 1 ‘gas leaks’ are nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression against the EU,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak said on Twitter.. Podoliak accused Russia of seeking to destabilize the economic situation in Europe and cause a panic before winter.
United States determined to support Western Europe
The United States, on the other hand, said it was prepared to support its European allies after leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that transport Russian gas to Western Europe, a senior White House official said on Tuesday.
“I am not going to speculate on the cause, and I know that our European partners are investigating. We are ready to support their efforts,” a senior White House official, who requested anonymity, said today, quoted by the news agency. AFP. “This simply shows the importance of our efforts to work together to secure alternative gas supplies for Europe, support efforts to reduce gas consumption and accelerate true energy independence by moving to a clean energy economy.”he pointed.
In the middle of last June, Gazprom reduced the flow through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 40 percent of the nominal capacity, for technical reasons, and at the end of July it reduced the volume to 20 percent. On August 31, the transfer of gas was cut off completely, for routine maintenance of a Siemens turbine, the only one still in operation at a compressor station near St. Petersburg.
Gas pumping was due to resume on September 2, but was suspended until further notice after an oil leak was detected, which Gazprom says is a systemic failure and, according to the German manufacturer, is not critical for operations. The second submarine gas pipeline that connects Russia with Germany, Nord Stream 2, was paralyzed in the certification phase due to the restrictive measures that the West imposed on Moscow in relation to the crisis in Ukraine.