Swedish authorities said Thursday a fourth leak was detected on undersea pipelines linking Russia to Europe after ruptures were reported earlier in the week.
“We have leakage at two positions” off Sweden, said Coast Guard spokesperson Mattias Lindholm. There are two more off Denmark, he said, according to CBC Canada.
T3wo of the leaks are on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which stopped supplying gas recently, and two leaks are on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has never started operations.
While neither pipeline is in operation at this time, the leaks were discovered when the gas bubbled to the surface.
The pipelines run through the Baltic Sea to transport gas from Russia to Germany. There are now two leaks on the Swedish side and two on the Danish side, including the latest reported leak.
Seismologists reported underwater blasts before the leaks emerged. Denmark’s Defence Command has released footage of the leaks which shows bubbles – the largest is 1km in diameter – at the surface of the Baltic Sea.
The Moscow Times is reporting that NATO declared that the damage was “the result of deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage” and said it supported investigations to determine the origin of the damage.
The Western alliance warned that it was “committed to prepare for, deter and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics.”
“Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response,” it said, adding that the leaks present risks to shipping and cause substantial environmental damage.
Russia has dismissed suggestions that it had attacked its own pipelines as “predictable and stupid,” with the Russian Foreign Ministry saying the blasts had occurred in “zones controlled by American intelligence”.
The German ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, told the BBC it was clear that a non-state actor could not have been behind the incidents – in other words, a country must have been responsible.
According to climate groups, Nord Stream 1 and 2 contained some 350,000 tons of natural gas — methane. Greenpeace says the leaks could have the effect of almost 30 million tons of CO2 or more than two-thirds of the annual emissions of Denmark.
