Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines

 Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines

By Mary Ilyushina

September 27, 2022 at 6:37 a.m. EDT

Part of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline shown in 2011. After mysterious drops in pressure overnight, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 reported damage to three underwater pipes in the Baltic Sea. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

The operator of the Nord Stream pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Europe on Tuesday reported “unprecedented” damage to the system, raising suspicions of sabotage after mysterious leaks caused sudden drops in pressure to three underwater lines in the Baltic Sea.

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“The damage that occurred in one day simultaneously at three lines of offshore pipelines of the Nord Stream system are unprecedented,” the company, Nord Stream AG, said in a statement to Russian state news agencies.

Two of the damaged pipes are part of Nord Stream 1, a major transmission line of Russian natural gas to Europe, while the third is part of Nord Stream 2, which Western nations have blocked from becoming fully operational as part of sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2’s operator said pressure in the undersea pipeline dropped from to 7 bar from 105 bar overnight.

Officials said that the damage may have been sabotage. “It is hard to imagine that it is accidental,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Poland, according to the Danish newspaper Politken. “We cannot rule out sabotage, but it is too early to conclude.”

Frederiksen was speaking at a ceremony in Goleniów, Poland for the opening of the new Baltic Pipe, which will carry natural gas to Poland and neighboring countries from Norway through Denmark.

Russia has cut off parts of Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for the sanctions, halting supplies to Germany, Poland and other nations. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have accused the Kremlin of using fossil fuels for “blackmail.”

The damage to the three pipelines delivered yet another warning sign that Europe must brace for a difficult winter without reliable supplies of Russian gas. In its statement the Nord Stream operator said “it is impossible to estimate” when the pipelines will be fixed.

Russia halted supplies via Nord Stream 1 earlier this months citing technical problems, and has accused the West of refusing to provide turbines needed for repairs.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Swedish Maritime Authority had issued a warning of two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters. The warning came shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered in Danish waters.

Danish and Swedish authorities said they were investigating the leaks and introduced a five-mile radius exclusion zone, near the Danish island of Bornholm where ships are banned.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said the Russian government was “extremely concerned” about the damage.

“This is very alarming information, there some damage in the pipe in the Danish economic zone, it is not yet clear what kind,” Peskov told reporters during his daily conference call. “The pressure has dropped considerably. This is an unprecedented situation that needs to be dealt with urgently.”

Peskov also said Russia is not “excluding any options” after a report by the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, suggesting potential sabotage.

In a statement, the German Energy Ministry was informed of “a sharp drop in pressure” in the Nordstream 2 pipeline, but said that it did not have “clarity about the causes and the exact facts.”

A spokesperson for the European Commission said that officials were aware of the leaks and were in contact with the authorities of the countries affected. The spokesperson said there was no impact on the security of gas supplies but that the authorities were monitoring the situation.

Beatriz Rios in Brussels and Meg Kelly in Berlin contributed to this report.

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