Swedish police open investigation into possible sabotage of Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline

Swedish police on Tuesday said it had launched a preliminary investigation into possible sabotage related to the Nord Stream 1 gas leak in the Baltic Sea.

A police spokesperson said: “We have established a report and the crime classification is gross sabotage”.

Norway said it will strengthen security at its oil and gas installations in the wake of gas leaks in the Baltic Sea and reports of drone activities in the North Sea.

“Based on the information we have seen so far, much indicates acts of sabotage,” Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in the a statement.

The government said it had consulted with the armed forces and operators of oil and gas installations, both on land and offshore.

They were speaking after a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany triggered concerns about sabotage and overshadowing the inauguration of a long-awaited link that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster Europe’s energy independence from Moscow.

Seismic stations in Sweden, Norway and Finland registered two explosions on Monday near the leaks.

Swedish seismologist Bjorn Lund said the first explosion was recorded in the early hours southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. The latter and stronger blast that night was northeast of the island and equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.

“We know very well what an underwater blast looks like. And so in this case, there’s no doubt this is not an earthquake,” Mr Lund said.

Ukraine accused Russia of causing the leaks in what it described as a “terrorist attack”.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said the damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 was “an act of aggression” towards the EU.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events “an act of sabotage,” while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she could not rule it out after three leaks were detected over the past day pipelines, which are filled with gas but not delivering the fuel to Europe.

An energy standoff over Russia’s war in Ukraine halted flows on Nord Stream 1 and prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his understanding was leaks detected in the pipelines would not have a significant impact on Europe’s energy resilience.

Mr Blinken, speaking at a press conference alongside India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday, said the United States had not yet confirmed initial reports the leaks could be the result of an attack or sabotage, but said if they were due to sabotage that would not be in anyone’s interests.