Denmark reports leak in gas pipeline in Baltic Sea
Although the pipeline is not used to import gas, it is nevertheless filled, dpa reported.
Denmark’s maritime authority said a gas leak has been observed in a pipeline leading from Russia to Europe underneath the Baltic Sea – and that there is a danger to ship traffic.
The operator of Nord Stream 2 confirmed a leak in the pipeline has been detected south-east of the Danish island Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
The pipeline runs 764 miles from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.
It is completed and filled with gas but gas has never been imported through it, dpa reported.
The cause of the detected leak was not immediately clear.
The Danish energy agency said in a statement that the country’s maritime authority has issued a navigation warning and established a five-nautical-mile prohibition zone around the pipeline “as it is dangerous for ship traffic”.
The incident is not expected to have consequences for the security of the supply of Danish gas, the country’s energy agency said.
A spokesman for the operator of Nord Stream 2 said a loss of pressure was detected in a tube early on Monday and the responsible marine authorities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia were immediately informed, dpa reported.
While the pressure inside the pipeline is normally 105 bar, it is now only seven bar on the German side, spokesman Ulrich Lissek said.
He fears the pipeline, filled with 177 million cubic meters of gas, could run dry in the coming days, dpa reported.
It was not immediately clear what consequences would follow from that, but a German environmental group said that the leaking gas is not toxic.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe pointed out that natural gas is methane, which partially dissolves in water.
The deeper the gas is released in the sea, the higher the proportion that dissolves in the water, the group said, according to dpa.
The German economy ministry said it had been informed about the suspected site in Danish territorial waters and was in touch with the authorities in Germany and Denmark.
The pipeline was already complete when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2 on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, after Russia formally recognised two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
Germany has been heavily reliant on natural gas supplies from Russia, but since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine on February 24, Berlin has been trying to look for other sources of energy.
The leak comes a day before the inauguration of a new pipeline, Baltic Pipe, which will bring Norwegian gas through Denmark to Poland.
The Norwegian gas is meant to have an important role in replacing Russian gas.
