One of Nord Stream’s leaks “reduced”: Sweden’s coast guard
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s coast guard said on Friday that one of the four leaks on Nord Stream’s pipelines in the Baltic Sea had reduced in size, as environmental experts warned of climate impacts.
The leak, located above Nord Stream 2, “has decreased, but is still ongoing,” the Swedish coast guard said in a statement on Friday morning.
All the leaks, which several countries say were caused by suspected sabotage when underwater explosions were registered on Monday, were in the Baltic Sea off the Danish island of Bornholm.
Two of the leaks are in the Swedish exclusive economic zone and the other two in the Danish one.
The second leak on the Swedish side, which is larger and located above Nord Stream 1, showed no signs of weakening, according to the coast guard.
When asked by AFP about the development of the leaks on the Danish side, the Danish police declined to comment.
Copenhagen estimated on Wednesday that more than half of the gas in the two pipelines – which were not operating but filled with gas – had escaped and the pipes were expected to be empty by Sunday.
According to a simulation released on Friday by the Norwegian research institute NILU, since Monday the released methane has moved with the wind over several Swedish and Norwegian regions and even reached the UK.
According to its estimates, almost 80,000 tons of methane have already escaped from the damaged pipes.
The methane emissions are not dangerous to the health of local residents, but authorities and environmental groups have expressed concern about their climate impact.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which link Russia to Germany, have been at the center of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. – AFP