Leakage In Russia's Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, Tampering Suspected

On Tuesday, Sweden's National Seismic Network said that it had discovered two explosions close to an unexpected leak in a Russian gas pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea. The network said it recorded one explosion early Monday in the southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, while the second one was in the northeast of the island. It said the latter eruption was the equivalent of a magnitude 2.3 earthquake. Politicians and experts in Poland and Denmark have feared tampering with an unusual leak in two natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

The pipeline problem comes at a time when a pipeline designed to separate Poland and Europe from Russian gas supplies is due to be inaugurated. Officials said the leak did not threaten energy supplies as Russia was not supplying gas through the pipeline. Experts have said that it will have a limited impact on the environment. Danish authorities announced on Monday that a leak had been detected in the Nord Stream-2 pipelines that were not being used.

He later reported that there had also been a significant reduction in the gas pressure of the Nord Stream-1 pipeline, which was supplying gas to Germany until recently. After this, the Swedish Maritime Administration said on Tuesday that leaks have been detected at two places in Nord Stream-1 passing through its territory. The Danish authorities have also confirmed the leak. Denmark's maritime authorities have warned ships and halted movement in the leak area so that boats or ships cannot pass through the area.