The Swedish National Seismology Centre recorded “powerful subsea blasts” around the area of the Nord Stream pipeline leaks, pushing forward the idea that the incident could be a result of targeted attacks.
On Monday, a pressure drop was observed in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, figured later on to be caused by a leak. Soon after, sister pipeline Nord Stream 1 also detected a drop in its pressure flow with both of its tubes affected.
“Yes, we have received information that it leaks in two places, both in the Swedish and Danish economic areas,” said Fredrik Strömbeck from the Swedish Maritime Administration.
The Dutch and German government are both investigating the incidents. Berlin is reportedly not ruling out the possibility that the leaks could have been caused by targeted attacks.
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According to a source who told German daily Tagesspiegel, the situation as being evaluated “speaks against chance.”
“Our imagination no longer gives a scenario that is not a targeted attack,” said the person, who is involved in the evaluation by the federal government and the federal authorities.
“The destruction that took place within one day on three lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system is unprecedented,” said the operator of Nord Stream on Tuesday, adding that timeline of resuming operations is currently impossible to predict.
While Nord Stream 2 has never reached operational status, Nord Stream 1–currently indefinitely offline due to a leak–actively transports natural gas exports from Russia to Germany.
Targeted attack?
A lot of speculations have been swirling on who may be the actor responsible should it be concluded that the leaks were a result of targeted attacks.
“Such a suspected attack on the seabed is anything but trivial, it has to be carried out with special forces, for example navy divers, or a submarine, according to the circles informed about the first assessment of the situation,” quoted Tagesspiegel.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is “extremely concerned” about the leaks, saying that no possibility can be currently ruled out for the cause when asked if it was a result of a sabotage.
The leaks, if caused by targeted attacks, have been linked to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with the move theorized to provoke the uncertainty in the European gas markets.
Dutch gas futures benchmark saw the price briefly fall below the EUR 160-mark before sharply jumping back up north of the EUR 190-mark following the incidents.
Information for this briefing was found via Berliner and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
