Von der Leyen warns of “the strongest possible response” for “sabotage”

Sweden’s seismic network detected “a massive release of energy this Monday”, materialized minutes later in two explosions in the vicinity of the Danish island of Bornholm, the area through which Nord Stream pipelines enter European soil. The first explosion was recorded at 2:03 a.m. local time, and the second 17 hours later, at 7:04 p.m. One of the underwater explosions caused a 2.3 magnitude tremor.

The impacts caused three leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which run parallel to the Baltic seabed from Siberia with Russian gas bound for Central Europe. The first stopped pumping a month ago due to an alleged breakdown in a Russian turbine and the second has never been able to work due to the war in Ukraine. But both lines are filled with methane gas to maintain pressure in the pipes. The gas is pouring out into the Baltic Sea like a mighty geyser.

For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated on Tuesday that leaks from the Nord Stream pipelines were caused by “sabotage” and warned of the “strongest possible response” in case the active European energy infrastructure is attacked.

The President of the Community Executive made these statements after speaking on the phone with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, whose government (like that of Sweden) has indicated that the leaks detected in those gas pipelines that link Russia with Germany are the result of “deliberate acts”.

These failures come after the CIA warned the German government of a possible attack on the pipeline, which was reported on Tuesday Spiegel. Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, in its protocol documents, had said that the probability of a pipeline failure or leak is “as low as one in 100,000 years.” The company had also assured that “repairs to the pipeline are not expected to be necessary during Nord Stream’s minimum operational life of 50 years.”

Sweden’s National Seismic Network said warnings about gas leaks came from the maritime administration at 1:52 p.m. and 8:41 p.m. Monday, respectively, after ships detected bubbles on the surface. Immediately, the Maritime Authority decreed that the ships maintain a distance of 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the leaks and that the planes maintain a safety altitude of 1,000 meters.

[Fugas de gas y riesgo de explosión: la rotura del Nord Stream puede provocar un desastre ecológico]

The methane gas It is not toxic, although it is a powerful greenhouse agent. But the problem is that its lower density can affect the buoyancy of ships and the stability of planes. Planes can avoid the vertical over the spills by other routes, but maritime traffic must necessarily pass through the leak points. Let’s remember: the exit of the Sund Strait, one of those that separate Denmark from Sweden.

In a war we already know what happens to the truth. But this war is very rare. Theoreticians on both sides have diagnosed the same cause of the accident: a sabotage. The Polish government, through its Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz, assures that “no scenario can be ruled out”, something that Mette Frederiksen, Danish Prime Minister, would have also slipped to the media of her country in an act, precisely, inauguration of another gas pipeline in Poland. the german newspapers Der Tagesspiegel Y Der Spiegel also point to this possibility.

and here it appears Germany. Their russian gas dependency is one of the vulnerable points of the European Union. It has filled its tanks to 80% a month ahead of schedule, but its forecasts were to continue filling tanks to face the winter of 2023 if the war lasted until then. LNG carriers from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands continue to arrive through the Skarregat, Kattegat and Sund straits every day to face the risks.

The importance of this flow is such that, according to The countrythe Nord Stream 1, before the shutdown a month ago, contributed around 350 gigawatt hours of Russian gas, compared to the 2,900 that came from these three countries. Since this Monday, methane tankers cannot safely cross the straits.

Chancellor Scholz has dedicated himself this summer to reassuring his population about the energy reserves to face the winter. But, just in case, he has written a check for 300 euros to each pensioner encouraging them to seek the cold months in warmer countries.

Something was not quite tied in the German calculations, but in any case, Berlin had the five floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, approved in record time by its government, two of which should start operating at the end of this year or early next.

With the straits closed or in jeopardy, this supply is up in the air. Scholz also expected that from next summer it would be US methane tankers that would unload the fuel at its five mobile regasification terminals.

If the leak continues, if nobody closes the spigot on Russian soil or if, as experts insist, the European Union does not solve the holes, this traffic will be impossible. The gas will become a liquefied hazard to shipping. The same uncertainty hangs over all the Baltic countries: Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and even Sweden.

The author of the sabotage –if, as it seems, this hypothesis is confirmed- has hit the nail on the head in his attack against the gas pipelines. This indicates that instability has marked a long term in the region and, of course, that its virulence may increase in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Hamlet’s castle at Elsinore and writer Karen Blixen’s grave at Rungsted, both enclaves on the Danish coast, watch as sterile bubbles of spoiled gas fill their atmospheres colder than ever.