Nord Stream AG has completed initial data gathering at the location of the pipeline damage on Line 1 in the Swedish exclusive economic zone finding “technogenic craters”.
Preliminary results of the damage site inspection showed these craters had a depth of 9.84ft to 16.4ft.
They were found on the seabed 813ft from each other and the section of the Nord Stream pipeline between the craters was destroyed.
The radius of pipe fragments dispersion was found to be “at least 250 m“.
Nord Stream AG is a consortium made up of Gazprom International, Wintershall Dea AG, PEG Infrastruktur AG, N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and ENGIE.
This comes as the Russian government has pointed the finger at the British navy for being behind the Nord Stream sabotage.
The British government denied these allegations, claiming that the Kremlin is trying to distract from its own military failures in Ukraine.
However, a representative of Putin’s government said: “According to available information, representatives of this unit of the British Navy took part in the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on 26 September this year – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.”
Russia has claimed that western nations were responsible for the sabotage but this marked the first time the country outright placed the blame on a single country’s armed forces.
The Russian, majority state-owned energy firm, Gazprom, halted flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipe in early September, citing maintenance challenges. Both Nord Stream 1 and 2 held gas in the pipes, even though they were not flowing.
Norwegian armed forces are increasing the readiness of its defence forces and boosting maritime surveillance in an attempt to secure energy links to Europe.
Norway’s prime minister has called for support from NATO navies as fears around drone sightings near offshore platforms grow.
As the country is quickly taking over as Europe’s leading gas supplier following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there are concerns that Russia may be trying to target Norway’s offshore facilities.
For a comprehensive overview of the Nord Stream sabotage, see our full timeline here.