Norway Sharpens Preparedness on Continental Shelf After 'Possible Sabotage' of Nord Stream Pipelines

The destruction registered simultaneously on both strings of the Nord Stream offshore gas pipeline in the Baltic has been called “unprecedented” by the operator, with senior government officials in several countries speaking of likely sabotage.

Norway is stepping up preparedness on its continental shelf following the leaks in the Baltic pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland said.

This is being carried out in close contact between the government, the police, the Norwegian Armed Forces and operators on the Norwegian continental shelf, Aasland told national broadcaster NRK after interrupting his visit to Poland. He also stressed that the authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

Earlier, unknown drone activity around Norwegian oil platforms was reported.

Geir Hågen Karlsen, lieutenant colonel and researcher at the Norwegian Defense Academy, ventured that the Norwegian gas supply probably was “the biggest and strategically most important sabotage target in entire Europe,” given the Scandinavian country's role as a supplier. According to him, a sabotage attempt can be made in several ways, including divers, submarines, unmanned vessels or cyber attacks against land-based installations.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that sabotage against the two gas pipelines from Russia to Germany off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea was likely.

“When we have seen pictures of the leaks and explosions have been recorded on the seabed, it is close enough to believe,” Støre told NRK.

Earlier, a similar assessment was voiced by the Danish authorities. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the leaks “deliberate actions, and not an accident.”

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that an investigation is underway and no cause can be ruled out, including possible sabotage. He called the situation “completely unprecedented” and said it required “urgent” investigation.

“We are extremely concerned about this news,” Peskov said.

Meanwhile, Sweden's National Seismology Centre (SNSN) at Uppsala University said it recorded two explosions at the pipelines on Monday, with one of them being equivalent to 100 kilograms of dynamite.

At the same time, operator Nord Stream AG called the recent destruction on the offshore gas pipelines “unprecedented”, adding that it was “impossible” to calculate the amount of time needed to rectify it.

Radoslaw Sikorski, former Polish Defense Minister and current member of European Parliament, appeared to hint at US involvement, tweeting “Thank you, USA”. “Is this an official statement on this being a terrorist attack?”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova retorted.

As one of the main gas supply routes to Europe, the 1,224-kilometer Nord Stream starts in Russia's Vyborg and ends at Germany's Lubmin, with the capacity standing at 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. The work of the pipeline, which remains filled with gas, has been suspended since the end of August due to issues with the repair of turbines caused by sanctions slapped on Russia by the West in response to its ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2 was never turned on, but was filled with gas.