UPDATED: A gas leak was observed southeast of Bornholm on Monday. The Danish Maritime Authority announced this in a navigation warning. It also states that the leak is dangerous for shipping. The leak occurred on the route where the large Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline runs.
The report of a leak comes immediately after a drop in pressure in the gas pipeline was observed on Monday night. The pressure reportedly dropped from around 105 bar to 7 bar, writes the news agency Reuters.
In a press release, the Danish Energy Agency confirms that a leak has occurred on one of two Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in Danish territory southeast of Dueodde. Sailing is prohibited on Monday within an area of five nautical miles - equivalent to almost ten kilometers - from the gas leak, the Danish Maritime Authority announced.
- Outside the prohibition zone, there are no safety risks associated with the leak. The incident is not expected to have any consequences for the Danish security of gas supply, the Danish Energy Agency said in a press release.
In an email response to Ritzau, the Danish Energy Agency stated that the leak will not affect the security of supply, as Nord Stream 2 has never been put into operation. The agency wrote in a press release that "relevant authorities" are coordinating the effort and that the agency will update regularly.
Nord Stream 2 runs from Russia to Germany. It was largely ready to be put into operation and had been filled with 300 million cubic meters of gas when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced, shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that it would stop using it.
Risk of explosion
Jyllands-Posten writes on Monday evening that Danish F-16 aircraft were sent on the wing to photograph the area southeast of Bornholm. The Danish Armed Forces Operations Center confirmed this to the newspaper. Here they could see that the sea was "bubbling" in the area, according to Jyllands-Posten.
Simon Pedersen, associate professor and section head at Aalborg University Energy in Esbjerg, tells Politiken that the leak poses a risk of an explosion.
- The biggest safety risk is that it can cause a very large explosion if the gas comes near an open flame or a spark. In addition, the gas is toxic to both humans and wildlife, he tells the newspaper.
Pressure also dropped in Nord Stream 1
The Danish Energy Agency informs Ritzau that it is initially the owner of the gas pipeline, Nord Stream AG, who will be responsible for closing the leak. The agency also states that it currently expects that it will be between one and two weeks before sailing in the area is allowed again.
It has not been possible for Ritzau to get further comments from the National Police.
Later on Monday evening, Nord Stream AG announced that the pressure in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has also dropped. Both lines in Nord Stream 1 are affected, a spokesman for the operator told the news agency dpa.
The capacity suddenly dropped to zero on Monday, and an investigation has been launched. German authorities told dpa that they do not know what caused the drop in pressure.
Nord Stream 1 is the pipeline that normally transports gas from Russia to Germany.
/ritzau/
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