Sweden sends submersibles to investigate Nord Stream’s pipelines for leaks
Sweden has sent a submersible to investigate an area of the Nord Stream pipeline where an eruption in the Baltic Sea caused leaks for several days.
Swedish Navy spokesman Captain Jimmie Adamsson said a submarine rescue vessel had been sent to the scene of the leaks off Sweden and was supporting the Swedish coast guard, which is leading the investigation.
The coastguard said one of its ships, the Amfritrite, was on the scene to monitor nearby marine traffic but bad weather was likely to complicate the situation.
Underwater blasts involving several hundred kilograms of explosives damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines off southern Sweden and Denmark last week and led to huge methane leaks in international waters of the Baltic Sea.
European leaders say the blast was an act of sabotage but have declined to say who might be behind it. The Russians, in turn, have accused the West of being behind the blast, suggesting the US would win – a charge vehemently denied by Washington.
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Over the weekend, authorities in Denmark said the natural gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 had stopped leaking. But the Swedish coastguard said one of its planes had reported that the minor leak over Nord Stream 2 “instead has increased somewhat again” and may take “some time” to stop.
Danish authorities monitored the two gas leaks east of the Danish Baltic Bornholm — above Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 — with the frigate Absalon, the environmental vessel Gunnar Thorson and a military helicopter.
Sweden’s public prosecutor’s office and the Security Police are leading an investigation, while the Copenhagen Police was responsible for an investigation in Denmark. A joint international investigation group from, among others, Denmark, Germany and Sweden was also being set up.
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The pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, have been at the center of a growing gas supply crisis in Europe amid Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.