Suspicious leaks in two gas pipelines from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea caused a sudden drop in pressure on Monday, raising fears of possible sabotage and prompting authorities in Germany, Denmark and Sweden to investigate.
Sweden’s National Seismic Network said it detected two large underwater explosions near the locations of the leaks on Monday. None of the pipelines — Nord Stream 1 and 2 – had been active, but were filled with gas when there was a sharp drop in pressure, first recorded on Monday.
Pictures published by the Danish Defense Command showed a swirling mass of methane bubbling on the surface of the Baltic Sea. Danish authorities have issued security alerts at electricity and gas installations in the country.
Speculation immediately fell on Russia, which denied any responsibility. The leaks highlighted the vulnerability of Europe’s energy infrastructure, even as the continent attempts to wean itself off supplies from Russia as punishment for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister, blamed Russia for the leaks, saying it was an attempt to further destabilize Europe’s energy security. He spoke at the launch of a new undersea pipeline that connects Poland to Norway via Denmark.
“We don’t yet know the details of what happened, but we can clearly see that it was an act of sabotage,” Morawiecki said. “An act that probably marks the next step in the escalation of this situation in Ukraine.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said sabotage could not be ruled out. “It’s still too early to conclude, but it’s an extraordinary situation,” she said during a visit to Poland to inaugurate the gas pipeline from Norway.
“We’re talking about three leaks, so it’s hard to imagine that it could be accidental,” she said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Twitter that the leaks were “a planned terrorist attack by Russia and an act of aggression against the EU”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov said of the leaks that “no possibility can be ruled out,” but Russian state media sought to blame the United States and Ukraine. The state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that Washington “is an active opponent of Russian gas supplies to Europe” and said Ukraine opposed Nord Stream 2 because it was “afraid to lose revenue from the transit of Russian gas”.
It was not immediately clear who would benefit from ruptures in the pipelines, which were not in service. The leaks were discovered at different locations on two branches of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline and one branch of Nord Stream 2, Danish and Swedish officials said. They warned ships to avoid affected areas.
Pipelines have been at the center of the wider confrontation between Russia and Europe. After the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia to penalize it for invading Ukraine in February, Russia began withholding natural gas it had sent for decades to Europe, threatening the continent’s energy supply as winter approaches.
The Danish and German governments have both said the leaks will not affect their countries’ natural gas supply. Gazprom had already halted nearly all natural gas deliveries to Europe, via Nord Stream 1 as well as all but one onshore gas pipeline, and European countries have turned to other suppliers, including Norway, to meet their energy needs.
But the incident showed just how vulnerable energy infrastructure can be. The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority warned on Monday that unidentified drones had recently been sighted near its offshore oil and gas installations, raising fears of possible explosions, helicopter collisions or “deliberate attacks”. He called for “increased vigilance by all ship operators and owners”, citing heightened security concerns following recent threats from Russia related to its war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Gazprom halted deliveries via Nord Stream 1 indefinitely earlier this month, amid a lingering dispute with Germany over gas supplies. The pipeline is made up of approximately 100,000 concrete-lined steel pipes designed to withstand the pressure change the gas experiences on the 760-mile journey from Russia to Germany. They rest on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into service after Germany revoked its certification on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Senators and members of Congress have lobbied for years to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2. After Germany halted certification, President Biden imposed sanctions on the Russian operator of the pipeline.
Monika Pronczuk, Oleg Matsnev and Torben Brooks contributed reporting.