Published: Today 01.05
Updated: Less than 30 min ago
A fourth gas leak has been found in the Baltic Sea.
It lies between the two previously known on Nord Stream 1 – but originates from Nord Stream 2.
At the same time, seismologist Björn Lund does not rule out that another detonation may have taken place in the area.
Three leaks from the gas lines in Baltic Sea became known on Monday.
check One on Nord Stream 2, just southeast of Bornholm, in the Danish economic zone.
check Two on Nord Stream 1 further to the northeast, both at the height of Simrishamn. These leaks have a mutual distance of 6,083 meters. The nearest coast is in the Danish economic zone. The one further out to sea is located in the Swedish economic zone and measures more than 950 meters in diameter at the surface. The pictures that the Coast Guard has published were taken of this leak.
At the same time, seismologist Björn Lund at Uppsala University already stated on Tuesday that two detonations were registered in close proximity to the leaks.
check The first, at 02:03 on the night of Monday, occurred near the leak at Nord Stream 2, southeast of Bornholm. It was measured at 1.8 on the Richter scale.
check The second explosion took place near the two leaks on Nord Stream 1 near Simrishamn. It was recorded at 7.04pm on Monday and had a magnitude of 2.3 – more than five times as powerful as the first blast.
The Prime Minister had not been reached at the latest
When Magdalena Andersson held her press conference at 9pm on Tuesday evening, she said that there had been two probable detonations and that there were three leaks. One of them was in the Swedish economic zone, she stated.
Also at a new press meeting at 6pm on Wednesday, both the Prime Minister and the Coast Guard’s operational chief Johan Norrman reiterated that it is about three leaks.
Obviously, they had not then been reached by the latest information.
Already on Tuesday, the Coast Guard had discovered another leak – thus a fourth.
check According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, it is located between the two leaks on Nord Stream 1 at the height of Simrishamn – but originates from Nord Stream 2, which runs parallel. According to the Coast Guard, it is located in the Swedish economic zone and measures 200 meters in diameter.
The Swedish Maritime Administration has not issued any new navigation warning after the discovery of the fourth leak, the existence of which SvD was the first to report on Wednesday evening.
– It is not needed because it is located between the two leaks that are covered by the existing warning in the same area, says Maria Boman, maritime rescue leader at the Maritime and Air Rescue Centre.
She cannot provide any exact coordinates for the fourth leak, but confirms that it was the Coast Guard that found it.
– It was not known from the beginning and was not visible on radar because it is smaller. The Coast Guard saw it when they went by boat and plane in the area. I don’t know exactly when, but at least it was known by lunchtime on Tuesday.
Cannot rule out third detonation
Aftonbladet can reveal that seismologist Björn Lund is investigating whether a third detonation may have occurred in direct connection to one of the two that have already been confirmed.
His suspicion is based on the fact that the seismic wave movements at the second detonation – the one at the height of Simrishamn at 19:04 – clearly deviate from those measured at the first, southeast of Bornholm.
– It has slightly more complicated waveforms. There is a peak in the second wave packet that cannot be seen not in the first detonation, he says.
In that case, the third detonation would have occurred barely ten seconds after the second and a few kilometers from there, according to Björn Lund’s information.
– It cannot be ruled out that this is the case. We will look in more detail at the measurement data. It could be another detonation or some kind of reflection of the other one, he says.
Björn Lund stated just before midnight that earlier on Wednesday he had no new contact with the government office about his latest observation.
– It is interesting if it can be sorted out. I’m not sure we can do it, but we’ll try, he says.
Aftonbladet has sought both of Magdalena Andersson’s press secretaries to ask questions about the new information, but without getting in touch.
