Gas pipe leak | This is what is known about the Nord Stream leaks: It is probably about explosions, Russia is suspected to be the culprit

THREE The line of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system was damaged in one day, the Nord Stream AG company that operates the system said on Tuesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

According to the Danish Defense Forces, the two-line Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has two leaks located on the northeast side of the Danish island of Bornholm. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, on the other hand, is leaking on the south side of the island.

What causes leaks?

Seismographs measured two earthquakes in the area on Monday, said the German Geological Research Center GFZ. Sweden’s national seismological network measured the earthquakes and described them as explosions, says SVT.

A seismologist at Uppsala University said on Tuesday that the tremors were very likely explosions and not, for example, earthquakes.

The police are currently investigating the leaks as gross sabotage and are cooperating with other authorities.

US Central Intelligence Agency CIA warned Germany about possible attacks on gas pipelines already several weeks ago, reported news agency Reuters. The German government was informed of possible attacks already in the summer.

Who is suspected of the leaks?

So far, it is not known which party caused the pipe breaks. The European Commission stated on Tuesday that it is premature to speculate on the origin of the leaks.

Professor of environmental policy in Russia at the Alexander Institute of the University of Helsinki Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen said to HS suspecting Russia to be the cause of the leaks.

“It is clear that it cannot be an accident when there are leaks in both pipes. It is clear to everyone that it is about Russia,” he states.

According to Tynkkynen, Russia’s motive may above all be psychological warfare: Russia seeks to demonstrate its power and “show that it can do bad things to Europe.”

Also a leading researcher at the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute Matt Pesu review on Twitter, that Russia could have “the desire and ability to carry out explosions”. If Russia turns out to be the culprit, it could possibly be the first clear regional reflection effect of the war of aggression in Ukraine, according to Pesu.

How was the leak reacted?

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen said at a news conferencethat the leaks observed in the gas pipes are clearly due to deliberate actions.

“The authorities now assess that these are clearly deliberate actions. It was not an accident,” Frederiksen told reporters.

Also the prime minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson suspects that it was a deliberate act. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Twitter about “sabotage targeting gas pipelines”.

“Deliberate disruption of a functioning European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible reactions,” von der Leyen warned.

The United States has also reacted to the Nord Stream leaks. The country said it was ready to help its European allies in the field of energy security and said it would assess whether it was an attack or some form of sabotage.

German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel according to the anonymous source interviewed, what happened is considered sabotage in the German administration and government.

What are the effects on Finland?

Gas pipelines also run through Finland’s economic zone. The Coast Guard of the Gulf of Finland is not particularly concerned that there would be leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines near the coast of Finland, but the possibility of a gas leak cannot be ruled out for the time being either.

The Coast Guard’s surveillance planes were unable to perform their normal surveillance flights on Monday or Tuesday due to a technical fault, the Coast Guard’s field director Santeri Laitanen told HS.

The Finnish government will discuss the Nord Strean leaks on Wednesday in connection with the evening school, the foreign minister said on Twitter.

“Finland is closely monitoring the situation regarding gas pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea. We are in close contact with the Danish and Swedish authorities to clarify the matter,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Minister of Defense Antti Kaikkonen (central) or the Defense Forces did not comment on the gas pipeline leaks to HS during Tuesday.

What are the environmental effects of leaks?

The environmental damage caused by gas pipeline leaks mainly affects the climate, says the research manager of the Finnish Environmental Center (Syke). Samuli Korpinen rate for HS.

Natural gas contains methane, which is a gas that strongly warms the climate. The effects on the bottom and water of the Baltic Sea are probably minor and very local. According to Korpinen, the area is not so large on the scale of the Baltic Sea that the effects would be long-lasting.

According to the Danish Defense Forces, the diameter of the largest leak point is well over a kilometer.

The head of Denmark’s energy agency told Reuters the leak from the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline would continue for several days or perhaps even a week. According to him, the area where the gas leak raises bubbles to the surface is more than a hundred meters in diameter.

The Swedish Maritime Administration has urged merchant ships to avoid damaged lines at least five nautical miles, or about ten kilometers away. There is a safety altitude of one kilometer for flights.

What is Nord Stream?

The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline installed at the bottom of the Baltic Sea runs from Russia to Germany.

Nord Stream 1 consists of two lines and has a nominal capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Gas was started to be delivered from Russia to Germany in 2011.

The Russian state gas company Gazprom owns the majority of Nord Stream AG, which owns the gas pipelines.

The Nord Stream 2 system runs almost in the same line as the first pipe. It was practically completed a year ago, but Germany suspended the project just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. However, they managed to fill the pipe with 300 million cubic meters of gas before it was interrupted.

Leakage of gas pipes is really rare, and the repair is a big job, estimates the Finnish gas market specialist Nord Stream AG. On its website, the probability of a gas pipe failure or leak is once in a hundred thousand years.