Leaking natural-gas above the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline system.
Danish Defence Command
Leaking natural-gas from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines is erupting like geysers in the Baltic Sea.
A video from the Danish military shows the spread of the disturbances on the sea surface.
European officials said Tuesday they believe the leaks were caused by sabotage.
Natural-gas is erupting like geysers on the surface of the Baltic Sea above the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, images from the Danish military show.
Danish Defence on Tuesday released a video taken from a helicopter showing the extent of the disturbances caused by the leaking pipelines, which European officials believe have been sabotaged.
—Forsvaret (@forsvaretdk) September 27, 2022
The largest disturbance on the surface is spread across more than 1,000 metres, while the smallest is about 200 metres, Danish Defence said.
Danish Defence Command
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Steam 2 systems were designed to transport natural-gas from Russia to Europe. Each system comprises two pipelines, giving four in total. Danish and Swedish officials have said that three of the four pipelines are leaking.
The pipelines were intended to be the main artery of natural-gas flow from Russia to Europe, but supply has been all but shut off since Russia invaded Ukraine. The damage to Nord Stream is a further blow to Europe as it grapples with an energy crisis.
The leaks are northeast of the Danish island of Bornholm.
An explosion measuring 2.3 on the Richter scale was detected in the area at 7:04 p.m. local time Monday, Björn Lund, a seismologist at Sweden’s Uppsala University, told Expressen, a Swedish newspaper.
The leaks are at a depth of between 70m and 80m, the Swedish Maritime Administration said, per Expressen.
Danish Defence Command
Nord Stream AG, the operator of the pipelines, said Tuesday: “The destruction that happened within one day at three lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system is unprecedented.”
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday the situation was “extraordinary” and it was “difficult to imagine” the damage was accidental. German media earlier reported government sources as saying they suspected Nord Stream had been sabotaged. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has said it couldn’t rule out sabotage, per Reuters.
Sea and air exclusion zones have been set up around the area of the leaks, Danish Defence said. An Absalon-class frigate and a pollution control vessel had been sent to the area for monitoring purposes and to ward off other ships, it added.