'Unprecedented' Nord Stream pipeline damage in Baltic Sea raises suspicion as to causes

A series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany triggered concerns about possible sabotage Tuesday, overshadowing the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline in Poland that will bring Norwegian gas to Europe in efforts to bolster energy independence from Moscow.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she "cannot rule out" sabotage after three leaks were detected over the past day on Nord Stream 1 and 2. The pipelines are not currently bringing gas to Europe as an energy standoff over Russia's war in Ukraine halted flows or never allowed them to begin. However, gas still fills the lines.

No official presented evidence of what caused the problems, but in central Europe where distrust of Russia runs high, there were fears Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure in a gesture of spite or to signal that all pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks emerged off the coast of Denmark and Sweden, raising the stakes on whether energy infrastructure in European waters was being targeted and leading to a small bump in natural gas prices.

Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored.

"We are talking about three leaks with some distance between them, and that's why it is hard to imagine that it is a coincidence," said Frederiksen.

Frederiksen was with Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, opening a valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system set to bring Norway's gas across Denmark and the Baltic Sea to Poland beginning next week.

Each line of the pipeline consists of about 100,000 24-tonne concrete-weight coated steel pipes laid on the seabed of the Baltic Sea. The pipelines have a constant internal diameter of 1.153 metres, according to Nord Stream.

Sections of the pipelines lie at a depth of around 80-110 metres. Natural gas is methane, which partially dissolves in water and is not toxic. The deeper the gas is released in the sea, the higher the proportion that dissolves in the water.

"The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented," the Nord Stream consortium said.

A Polish government official said he would not rule out the possibility of Russian "provocations."

"I cannot exclude any scenario. We are in a situation of high international tension," said Marcin Przydacz, a deputy foreign minister. "Unfortunately, our eastern neighbour is pursuing an aggressive policy all the time."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the leaks "very alarming."

"This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news," he said in a conference call with reporters.

Asked if the accident may have been caused by an act of sabotage, Peskov said that "no version could be excluded."