Offshore Energy — 2023-04-25
Maritime and Ports
The Danish Energy Agency issued a recommendation that the no-sailing zones around the leakage points on Nord Stream 1 and 2 be lifted, as the resulting gas clouds from the potential gas blowout do not pose a danger to ships in the area.
Following the recommendation, the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) lifted the restrictions on 2023 April 20.
However, DMA reported that it was discouraging anchoring, fishing and work on the seabed within a distance of 1 nautical mile from the leak positions due to “underwater obstacles”.
The restricted areas will no longer appear in the maritime authority’s navigation warnings but will be announced in Notices for Seafarers.
The Nord Stream twin pipeline system runs from Vyborg, Russia, to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany, and crosses the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, as well as the territorial waters of Russia, Denmark, and Germany.
Four gas leaks were found on the pipelines in 2022 September, two in Sweden’s EEZ and two in the Danish territory. After the Norwegian and Swedish seismic institutes had confirmed that underwater blasts preceded the leaks, European authorities said they suspected that the incident could be the result of “deliberate actions”.
Gas leaks stopped at the beginning of 2022 October after stable pressure was achieved, followed by the kick-off of the damage assessment.
On 2023 March 23, the Danish Energy Agency reported that a cylindrical object about 40 cm tall and 10 cm in diameter was found near the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The object was salvaged five days later.