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A natural gas leak has been observed in a pipeline from Russia to Europe below the Baltic Sea, posing a threat to ship traffic, Danish maritime authorities said.
The operator of Nord Stream 2 has confirmed that a pipeline leak has been detected in the southeastern part of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
The pipeline runs 764 miles from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.
It was finished and filled with gas, but never imported gas through it, the dpa reported.
The reason for the detected leak is unclear.
The Danish energy agency said in a statement that the country’s maritime authorities had issued a navigational warning and established a five-nautical-mile exclusion zone around the pipeline “because it is dangerous for ship traffic”.
The relevant authorities are currently coordinating the work, with the Danish energy agency adding that “outside the exclusion zone there are no safety risks associated with the leak”.
The country’s energy agency said it did not expect the incident to have an impact on the security of Denmark’s gas supply.
A spokesman for the Nord Stream 2 operator said a pressure loss was detected in the pipeline earlier on Monday and the responsible maritime authorities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia were immediately notified, dpa reported.
Spokesman Ulrich Lissek said that while the pressure in the pipeline is normally 105 bar, it is now only 7 bar on the German side.
He is concerned that the pipeline filled with 177 million cubic meters of natural gas could dry up in the next few days, the dpa reported.
It was unclear what the consequences would be, but a German environmental group said the leaked gas was non-toxic.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe points out that natural gas is methane, which is partially soluble in water.
According to the dpa, the organization said that the deeper the gas is released in the ocean, the higher the proportion of it dissolved in the water.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe added that even if an underwater explosion occurs, it will only have a localized effect.
The German economy ministry said it had been informed of the suspected location in Danish territorial waters and was in contact with German and Danish authorities.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2 on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, and the pipeline has been completed after Russia officially recognized two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
Germany has been heavily reliant on Russian gas supplies, but Berlin has struggled to find other sources of energy since Moscow launched war on Ukraine on February 24.
The leak came a day before the opening of the new pipeline, the Baltic Pipeline, which will transport Norwegian gas to Poland via Denmark.
Norwegian gas will play an important role in replacing Russian gas.
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