(Bloomberg) -- The operator of the Nord Stream pipeline said an initial survey found manmade craters on the seabed near the damaged gas link.
Nord Stream AG, led by Russian gas giant Gazprom PJSC, launched a probe in the Swedish zone of the Baltic Sea last week, following the explosions in September. The blasts damaged both lines of the idled Nord Stream and one line of the twin Nord Stream 2 pipeline that failed to start operations because of earlier western sanctions.
Western nations have strengthened security on energy infrastructure following the blasts, which they said were acts of sabotage. Russia has blamed the sabotage on the US, Ukraine and Poland, calling them “beneficiaries” of the explosions. The US and its allies have rejected those allegations and suggest Russia may have been behind the underwater blasts.
Citing the initial results of the probe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that a 40-meter-long piece of pipe was torn out of Nord Stream in a blast. The debris was thrown 40 meters to side, apparently damaging the neighboring Nord Stream 2 pipe, he said. “It’s clearly a terrorist attack,” Putin said.
“Technogenic craters” with a depth of 3 to 5 meters were found on the seabed about 248 meters (814 feet) from each other, the Nord Stream operator said. It’s continuing to analyze the survey data.
“The section of the pipe between the craters is destroyed, the radius of pipe fragments dispersion is at least 250 meters,” it said, without providing an explanation for the damage.
Both Sweden and Denmark are separately investigating the damage, which resulted in gas leaks in their exclusive economic zones of the Baltic Sea.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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