Nord Stream owner conducts own inspection of damaged pipeline

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A Russian-flagged ship landed near the damaged Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea on Thursday for examination on behalf of the owners.

The "specially equipped vessel" had arrived at the scene of "the pipeline damage in the exclusive economic zone of Sweden," according to Nord Stream AG, the majority of which is owned by Russia's Gazprom.

Four leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines were discovered in the Baltic Sea, at the end of September, off the shore of the Danish island of Bornholm. Seismic research centers said they had previously detected two underwater explosions.

The leaks occurred in international waters, but two of them occurred in Denmark's EEZ and two of them in Sweden's. "After carrying out the calibration works, the specialists will be ready within 24 hours to start the survey of the damaged area which would take three to five days according to current estimates," Nord Stream AG said in a statement.

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The owners of Nord Stream 1 informed us some weeks ago that they intended to do their examination of the pipeline damage, according to Jimmie Adamsson, a spokesperson for the Swedish navy.

Adamsson clarified that "in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, anyone can undertake this type of inspection" and that no permission was required.

The Swedish navy said on Wednesday that it has started new inspections of its own to supplement a previous examination this week, but it did not specify what they were searching for.

The location had undergone an underwater assessment by Swedish authorities, who said in the first few days of October that they had gathered "pieces of evidence" and that the inspection supported their suspicions of sabotage.

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Nord Stream AG revealed that they were still waiting for the Danish authorities to grant necessary permits for "the survey of the gas pipeline section in the Danish exclusive economic zone." 

Geopolitical concerns have been centered on the pipelines that link Russia to Germany as Russia curtailed gas supplies to Europe in what is believed to be retaliation for Western sanctions over Moscow's operation in Ukraine.

Both of them still held gas that leaked into the water and the atmosphere even though they weren't in use when the leaks happened.