Warsaw approves bill allowing sinking 'ships threatening Baltic Pipe'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Agencies
4 May 2023 21:50
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A bill enabling the Defense Minister to decide on sinking any vessel or aircraft assessed to be hostile was passed by the Polish Council of Ministers.

Baltic Pipe gas pipeline which connects Norway to Poland via Denmark, 2022 (Baltic Pipe Project)

The Polish Council of Ministers has reportedly granted the Defense Minister exceptional authority to authorize military action against any vessel which is assessed to pose a threat to the Baltic Pipe.

The council's office reported that the council had passed the relevant bill to ensure an effective and swift response in the case of a terrorist threat. The passed bill enables the Defense Minister to decide on sinking any vessel or aircraft assessed to be hostile.

"This is about enabling Polish armed forces to react to threats related to attacks on energy infrastructure located in the sea, the Baltic Pipe pipeline in particular," the office's statement said.

The bill, which requires approval by parliament to become law, reportedly aims to deter any military adventure against the Baltic Pipe similar to that which targeted Nord Stream pipelines.

The Baltic Pipe had started pumping gas from the Norwegian shelf into Poland via Denmark back in October, just a few days after the incidents that disabled Russia's Nord Stream pipeline into Europe.

Poland had Russian energy cut off from it after Warsaw refused to comply with Moscow's demand to have its energy supplies paid for in Russian rubles. Poland was receiving around 10 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year through the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

Back in February, US journalist Seymour Hersh indicated that the Nord Stream pipeline explosions were the work of the US and Norway but authorities from both sides denied involvement. Hersh said that US Navy divers planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines last year.