Who’s investigating?
For the Nord Stream 2 leak, the leader of Denmark’s Energy Agency declared to Reuters that it was far too early to make a decision on who will conduct the investigations. He also added that no one has been there yet to investigate the pipeline.
The Coast Guard, the Swedish Armed Forces, and the Swedish Maritime Administration are taking all the needed measures, as Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson confirmed. Germany stated that it is currently coordinating a response with police, local officials, and the energy agency.
Bjorn Lund, the current director of the Swedish National Seismic Network declared that the group discovered two explosions that took place right in the vicinity of the Danish island of Bornholm, which was “very close” to the location where Swedish maritime authorities saw the leaks. According to Lund, there was no “earthquake”.
What’s the potential impact?
The proportions of the damage indicate that Nord Stream pipelines probably won’t be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter, even in the case of a political will. As analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush declared, “depending on how big is the damage, the leaks might even consist in the permanent closure of both lines.”
They also added that leaks of such magnitude are nothing but a severe safety and environmental hazard, especially if Russia decides not to stop pumping gas into the system. Unfortunately, gas leaking from the two damaged pipelines will continue for many days, even a week.
Vessels could risk losing buoyancy if they enter the zone, and there might be even a risk of leaked gas that ignites over the water. There weren’t any risks associated with the leak outside the zone, as they added.
The leak might affect the environment in the area where the gas plume in the water column can be found, and the escape of the greenhouse gas methane would have a terrible impact on the climate.
