A stretch of at least 50 meters of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline is missing following suspected sabotage in late September in the Baltic Sea, according to first underwater images revealed on Tuesday.
On a video published by the Swedish daily Expressenthe holed pipeline is visible for the first time, with pieces of metal ripped apart by an explosion.
Filmed Monday at around 80 meters depth, the images of one of the four leak sites reveal that more than 50 meters of the gas pipeline have been destroyed or at least covered by the seabed following the explosions responsible for the damage, according to Expressen.
“Only extreme force can bend metal as thick as we see it,” says Trond Larsen, the drone pilot from Norwegian agency Blue Eye Robotics who was in charge of driving the submersible drone that filmed the footage.
We can “see a large impact on the seabed around the gas pipeline”, he specifies to the Swedish daily.
The two Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were damaged by at least two explosions in Baltic Sea waters resulting in four leaks.
After huge methane fumes, these have gradually come to an end and the last of them has not been visible on the surface since Friday, according to the Swedish coastguard.
Located in international waters off the Danish island of Bornholm, the damaged sites are two of them in the Danish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the other two in that of Sweden.
On October 6, the Swedish authorities announced that they had carried out an underwater inspection of the site and had collected “evidence” confirming the suspicions of a very probable act of sabotage.
On Tuesday, the Danish police announced together with the PET intelligence services that they have also carried out several inspections of the leaks present in the Danish area.
“The inspections confirmed that there was extensive damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Danish Exclusive Economic Zone and that this damage was caused by powerful explosions,” they said in a statement.
Denmark, Sweden and Germany are investigating the alleged sabotage domestically, but the option of an international investigation has receded in recent days.
Connecting Russia to Germany, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines had been at the heart of geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia. Washington denounced them as an instrument of Europe’s dependence on Moscow.
Although out of service due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the pipelines contained tens of thousands of tons of gas when they were damaged.
An “arranged” investigation, accuses the Kremlin
The Kremlin lambasted on Tuesday the international investigation carried out into the leaks of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Europe, which would be “arranged” to accuse Moscow of being at the origin of their sabotage.
“From what we hear from statements made in Germany, France or Denmark, this investigation is being arranged in such a way as to put the blame on Russia, which is absurd,” the president told reporters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russia has accused Western countries of being behind the explosions that caused these leaks on these two gas pipelines, which were stopped at the time of the accident, but still contained gas.
Mr Peskov argued on Tuesday that “Russia would not blow up its own pipeline”. Moscow has repeatedly asked to be associated with the investigation carried out by several countries bordering Nord Stream.
“We can only regret that the whole investigation is taking place in a very, very small group (…) without the participation of Russia, which is a co-owner of the gas pipeline”, deplored Mr. Peskov.
Russia opened its own investigation into the explosions, although it did not have the ability to investigate the site. Russian investigators “do their job”, assured Mr. Peskov.