Danish Energy Agency Says Invites Nord Stream Operator To Lift Object Found Near Pipeline

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The Danish Energy Agency has invited the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, to take part in an operation to recover an object found near the gas pipeline.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that during a survey of the gas pipeline, Gazprom experts had found a certain "column" at a distance of about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the site of the explosion. It was installed in a vulnerable place, at the junction of pipes. The object could be an antenna for receiving a signal to set off an explosive device laid under the pipeline system, Putin noted.

"Relevant Danish authorities have examined the object that has been observed by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. It remains the assessment that the object does not pose an immediate safety risk. With a view to further clarifying the nature of the object, Danish authorities have decided to salvage the object with assistance from the Danish Defence. The Danish Energy Agency has in that context invited the owner of the pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, to participate in the operation," the agency said in a statement.

The agency also attaches a photograph of the object and notes that it is cylindrical in shape, and is about 40 centimeters tall and 10 centimeters in diameter.

The statement added that it could be a sea smoke buoy.

The agency is awaiting a response from Nord Stream 2 AG before proceeding with the operation, the statement noted.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, have been out of action since they were hit by explosions last September. Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take.

Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. The official results of the investigation are not out yet, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February, which pointed to the US and Norway as the culprits. According to the report, US navy divers planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022, and Norway activated them three months later. The report added that US President Joe Biden had decided to sabotage the Nord Streams after more than nine months of secret discussions with the national security team.