Nord Stream: Swedish Coast Guard reports another leak

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Swedish Coast Guard recording: bubbles over the gas leaks

Photo: HANDOUT/AFP

The damage to the Baltic Sea pipelines could be greater than initially thought.

After the alleged act of sabotage on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, there were originally three leaks.

Now Swedish authorities are reporting a fourth leak.

"There are two leaks on Swedish territory and two on Danish territory," a Swedish Coast Guard official told AFP - the two leaks in Sweden's economic zone were "close to each other."

The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet had previously reported a fourth leak.

At the beginning of the week, three leaks were discovered within a short space of time in Danish and Swedish waters on the Russian Nord Stream pipelines.

The exact reason is unclear.

Western security experts assume sabotage.

The Swedish Coast Guard initially did not provide any precise information on the location of the newly found leak and why it was only discovered now.

However, both damaged areas in the Swedish economic zone are “in the same sector”.

Swedish media reported that the newly discovered leak was on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

However, the Coast Guard did not initially confirm this information.

The other leak involved Nord Stream 1.

The three previously identified leaks are located near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Danish and Swedish economic zones.

Although the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are currently not in operation, they are filled with gas.

The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had called "deliberate actions" as the cause of the leaks on Tuesday evening, not an accident.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that it was "probably the next level of escalation" in the Ukraine conflict.

Russia appeals to UN Security Council

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "stupid and absurd" to suggest that Russia was behind the leaks.

The leaks are "rather problematic" for Moscow, he said.

At Moscow's request, the UN Security Council will deal with Nord Stream on Friday, according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

After the leaks became known, the operating company Nord Stream announced an investigation to determine the damage and clarify the causes of the incident.

From Denmark it was said that more than half of the gas in the pipelines had already leaked.

"We expect the rest to escape by Sunday," Danish Energy Agency head Kristoffer Bottzauw said at a press conference.

asc/Reuters/AFP