October 11, 2023

The offshore gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia has been stopped. A possible explosion was recorded in the area of this property. Seismologists from the Norwegian Institute of Seismic Observations NORSAR recorded a probable explosion during the night of October 8 in the Baltic Sea near the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. They also give some clarification that a possible explosion could have occurred 20 kilometres north of the Estonian city of Paldiski at 01:20 local time (the same as Moscow time). The magnitude is estimated at 1. According to experts, this is much lower than it was during the explosion on the "Nord Streams" in September 2022. NORSAR added that "Further analysis of the data obtained continues".

The cause of the accident is not clear yet, however, experts in Finland assumed an external impact on the gas pipeline. Earlier, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto did not rule out sabotage on the Balticconnector gas pipeline: "Damage to both the gas pipeline and the telecommunications cable is probably the result of external impact."

According to him, the investigation of the causes of the damage is already underway under the control of the givernment. After talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the president of Finland said that the alliance is ready to contribute to the investigation of the Balticconnector case.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo also assumed that the damage to the gas pipeline could have occurred as a result of some external impact. Alongside with that he urged not to draw too hasty conclusions on this issue: "It is too early to draw conclusions about who or what caused the damage."

At the same time, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Finland, Flag Admiral Janne Huusko stressed that there is no military threat to Finland.

Janne Grenlund, the head of the operating company Gasgrid Finland said that the repair of the underwater gas pipeline Balticconnector could take months. He clarified that it is necessary to obtain a permit for the inspection of the main pipeline, and it will take several days to prepare the equipment. According to Grenlund, prophylactic work in extreme case may last until the end of winter.

On October 8, the Balticconnector operations weresuspended due to a leak. The point of damage is located in the central part of the Gulf of Finland. After the leak, natural gas prices in Europe went up by 8.8 percent and at the moment exceeded the level of 40 Euros per megawatt hour.

The Balticconnector pipeline is 77 kilometres long, and the throughput rate is up to 2.6 billion cubic meters per year. The gas pipeline runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from the Finnish Inkoo to the Estonian Paldiski town. Via this route Finland receives gas from Latvian gas storage facilities.

In September last year, a similar story happened with the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. At first, the pressure in both pipes dropped sharply, after which the valves were closed. The survey showed that the gas pipelines were blown up by unknown persons.

On February 8, 2023, American journalist Seymour Hersh published an article, where he stated that the United States was involved in the sabotage on the "Northern Streams". According to the journalist, it was US NAvy who conducted the operation, and they used submarines to set up bombs there.

Earlier, Sandra Pereira, a European Parliament member from Portugal addressed the European Commission with a question about the status of the investigation of sabotage on the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. She also wondered what has been done to repair pipelines and minimize the consequences of the ruptures.

Source: https://lenta.ru/news/2023/10/11/balticconnector/

Translated into English by Muhiddin Ganiev