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NORD STREAM

Nord Stream inspects pipeline in Swedish zone and awaits Danish permission

A Russian-flagged ship on Thursday arrived at the damaged Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea to carry out an inspection on behalf of the owners, the company and Sweden's navy said.

Published: 28 October 2022 10:32 CEST
Nord Stream inspects pipeline in Swedish zone and awaits Danish permission
One of the Nord Stream gas leaks in the Swedish zone, photographed in September. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard

Nord Stream AG, which is majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom, said the “specially equipped vessel” had arrived at the location of “the pipeline damage in the exclusive economic zone of Sweden”.

Four leaks emerged on the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm at the end of September with seismic institutes reporting that they had recorded two underwater explosions prior to the leaks appearing.

While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two of them in the Swedish.

“After carrying out the calibration works, the specialists will be ready within 24 hours to start the survey of the damaged area that would take three to five days according to current estimates,” Nord Stream AG said in a statement.

Jimmie Adamsson, spokesman for Sweden’s navy, said that “the owners of Nord Stream 1 informed us several weeks ago that they wanted to have their own inspection of the damage to the pipeline”. 

Adamsson added that no permission was needed and that “in the Swedish exclusive economic zone anyone can do this type of inspection.”

On Wednesday, the Swedish navy announced it had begun new inspections of their own this week to complement an earlier inspection, but gave no details of what they were looking for.

Swedish authorities announced in early October that they had conducted an underwater inspection of the site and collected “pieces of evidence”, and that the inspection backed up suspicions of sabotage.

Nord Stream AG also said they were still awaiting a decision from Danish authorities to grant necessary permits for “the survey of the gas pipeline section in the Danish exclusive economic zone.” 

The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation to Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Although they were not in operation when the leaks occurred, they both still contained gas which spewed up through the water and into the atmosphere.

READ ALSO: Images released of Nord Stream leak sites as Danish police confirm explosions

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NORD STREAM

Denmark refuses Russia access to Nord Stream sabotage probe

Denmark says it will not give Russia permission to participate in investigations into the explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

Published: 16 March 2023 12:52 CET
Denmark refuses Russia access to Nord Stream sabotage probe

The Danish position was confirmed by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen at a press briefing on Thursday.

“Denmark, Sweden and Germany all have rule of law and one can have confidence in our investigations,” Rasmussen said.

The three countries have, according to Rasmussen, each initiated investigations into the explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines on September 26th last year.

Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier this week said he wanted Denmark to allow Russia to take part in investigations.

Denmark has the right to control who participates in the investigations into the explosion that took place within the Danish economic zone. Two of the four leakages were in the Danish zone, and two in the Swedish.

Danish authorities were on Tuesday advised by Russian company Gazprom that an object had been detected close to the site of the Nord Stream 2 explosions.

“The owners of the Nord Stream pipeline are able to inspect the pipelines. It is in this context that an object was observed,” Rasmussun said.

“We have told the Russians that we will investigate this thoroughly. And when we have done that, we will announce the results of that investigation,” he said.

Four leaks emerged on the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm at the end of September, with seismic institutes reporting that they had recorded two underwater explosions prior to the leaks appearing.

While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two in the Swedish one.

Investigations later showed the pipelines were ruptured by underwater explosives, but it remains uncertain who was behind the explosions.

The incident took place seven months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

Last week, Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper reported that German investigators suspect that the yacht Andromeda, which was owned by a Ukrainian, was used to plant the explosives on the pipeline. 

READ ALSO: Six months on, what do we know about the Nord Stream blasts?

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