Denmark confirms ‘object’ found near Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Denmark’s foreign minister has confirmed that the Russian gas company Gazprom has found an ‘object’ near the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, although he said nothing about what it might be.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that the object or device did not present a current risk.
“The assessment from our authorities is that there is no immediate security risk and thus no danger to human life or shipping,” he said to broadcaster DR.
Rasmussen said that Gazprom had sent pictures of the device to the Danish authorities and held meetings with the embassy in Russia.
“It has also been followed up with a direct inquiry to our embassy in Russia,” he said. “Of course, we take it very seriously, and it is being investigated.”
According to Russian president Vladimir Putin a ship from the state-owned Gazprom, which was the majority owner of the pipeline, found the device, which he said was suspected to be part of a remote detonation system.
“Specialists believe that it could be an antenna to receive a signal to detonate an explosive device, which could have been – I’m not sure, but it’s possible – planted under the pipeline,” Putin told the state-owned news agency Tass.
READ ALSO: Six months on, what do we know about the Nord Stream blasts?
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.
Investigations later showed the pipelines were ruptured by underwater explosives. The incident took place seven months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two in the Swedish one.
Denmark has continually oriented Russia on its ongoing investigations into the leaks, the Danish foreign ministry told news wire Ritzau.
“The operators of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream AG 2, have applied to Danish authorities for permission to conduct water surveys in relation to the damage at the pipelines,” the ministry said.
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.
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Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that the object or device did not present a current risk.
“The assessment from our authorities is that there is no immediate security risk and thus no danger to human life or shipping,” he said to broadcaster DR.
Rasmussen said that Gazprom had sent pictures of the device to the Danish authorities and held meetings with the embassy in Russia.
“It has also been followed up with a direct inquiry to our embassy in Russia,” he said. “Of course, we take it very seriously, and it is being investigated.”
According to Russian president Vladimir Putin a ship from the state-owned Gazprom, which was the majority owner of the pipeline, found the device, which he said was suspected to be part of a remote detonation system.
“Specialists believe that it could be an antenna to receive a signal to detonate an explosive device, which could have been – I’m not sure, but it’s possible – planted under the pipeline,” Putin told the state-owned news agency Tass.
READ ALSO: Six months on, what do we know about the Nord Stream blasts?
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.
Investigations later showed the pipelines were ruptured by underwater explosives. The incident took place seven months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two in the Swedish one.
Denmark has continually oriented Russia on its ongoing investigations into the leaks, the Danish foreign ministry told news wire Ritzau.
“The operators of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream AG 2, have applied to Danish authorities for permission to conduct water surveys in relation to the damage at the pipelines,” the ministry said.
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.
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