All Russian Gas Pipelines to Germany, BLOWN UP
I got this notice last night before I went to bed.
Apparent Sabotage Disables Nord Stream 1 and 2, Cutting Off All Direct Gas Supply to Germany from Russia
Anonymous German officials appear to acknowledge the strong possibility of American or NATO involvement
Yesterday evening, pressure in the undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline suddenly collapsed, and gas could be seen bubbling to the surface of the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. Shortly afterwards, reports came of a total collapse in the pressure of our other major undersea pipeline connection to Russia, Nord Stream 1, indicating a further rupture.
Due to the timing, the fact that three separate pipelines were affected1, and the severe pressure losses in Nord Stream 1, officials expect the worst. “We can no longer imagine any scenario other than a targeted attack,” said a person privy to the assessment by the federal government and federal authorities. They added: “Everything speaks against a coincidence.”
Such an attack on the seabed would be anything but trivial; it would have to be carried out with special forces – for example, by navy divers or a submarine, people informed of initial assessments said.
With regard to responsibility for the alleged attacks, two possibilities are being discussed. First, according to initial speculation, Ukrainian or Ukrainian-affiliated forces could be responsible. With the temporary shutdown of the Nord Stream pipelines, gas deliveries from Russia to Germany and Central Europe would only be possible via the Yamal pipelinje running through Poland or the Ukrainian pipeline network.
The piece that I’ve bolded is of course a lightly disguised reference to the United States or NATO. This should surprise nobody: President Biden said in early February that in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2, we will bring an end to it.” It’s well within the realm of possibility that such an attack would’ve been carried out with the tacit approval (or even upon the request) of the Scholz government, to relieve them of political pressure to open Nord Stream 2 or seek terms for a restoration of supply to Nord Stream 1 as the economy continues to circle the drain. The Greens are in government here, and Green-adjacent journalists have gone so far as to demand the dismantling of the pipelines to hurt Putin, so this too is far from crazy.
The second scenario investigators are contemplating, according to the linked Tagesspiegel report, is of course a “‘false flag’ operation by Russia,” carried out to “drive up the price of gas,” “exacerbate the European energy crisis” and “fuel additional uncertainty.” Russia will surely be blamed for the attack as soon as it is confirmed, I have no doubt of that.
The pipeline attacks come as a few prominent German politicians have demanded the opening of Nord Stream 2, and the subject has attracted a growing protest movement. Neither pipeline was currently transporting gas; Gazprom cut off supply to Nord Stream 1 at the end of August, citing maintenance issues exacerbated by EU sanctions, while the Scholz government refused to certify Nord Stream 2 following its completion in November 2021.
UPDATES: Gonzalo Lira argues that the Americans have declared war on Europe; Noah Carl draws attention to an older piece he wrote on the “Nord Stream 2 theory” of the Ukraine war; hints of a possible method and an earlier, aborted attack on the pipeline are found in these stories about an underwater drone armed with explosives recovered near the pipeline construction site in 2015. Two Nord Stream 1 leaks have now been identified; like the Nord Stream 2 rupture, they’re near Bornholm. There are three ruptures in total.
MOAR UPDATES: Danish armed forces have published a brief statement on the gas leaks, together with some photos.
That circle of bubbling methane is apparently a kilometre in width. Nord Stream 1 was attacked in two places northeast of Bornholm, while one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes was breached off the southern tip of the island. This report from FAZ suggests the attacks happened at a depth of about 70 metres.
STILL MOAR: Swedish state media reports that Danish and Swedish monitoring stations recorded two substantial undersea explosions at the sites of the gas leaks, one at 2:03 am Monday morning, the other at 7:04 pm Monday evening. This is now a confirmed attack, if there was ever any doubt.
URGENT – Russian Gas Pipelines to Germany, BLOWN UP
A few hours ago (Monday night), the pressure in Nord Stream 2, the undersea gas line connecting Russia and Germany, plummeted and began leaking gas bubbles into the Baltic sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. Less than an hour ago reports of pressure drops in ***BOTH*** Nord Stream lines 1 & 2 ! ! ! The photo above was taken by military helicopter over one of the rupture sites, showing gas bubbling to the surface of the sea.
The Baltic Sea pipeline which had never been put into operation seems to have been DESTROYED.
The leak was noticed for the first time, Monday night (European time). A spokeswoman for the gas network operator, GASCADE, confirms that pipeline sensors registered a massive drop in pressure in the pipeline, and sounded alarms.
According to the Nordstream 2 operators, the pressure dropped from 105 bars to 7 bars.
German media is reporting that a leak in the newly built pipeline is most likely the result of sabotage.
After it became clear that Russia was planning to enter Ukraine militarily, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stopped the project.
Whether an accident is behind the pipeline rupture or sabotage is unclear for the time being. However, an accident on the ultra-modern line is unlikely.
TIMING POINTS TO SUSPECTS
The timing of the incident, during a European supply crisis, and after serious setbacks for Russia in the Ukraine war, suggests sabotage.
Most recently, the German AfD and Left Party had campaigned to open the pipeline to mitigate the gas price crisis in Germany.
The relatively shallow depth of the Baltic Sea at the location of the leak means that the damaged pipeline will be readily accessible by submersible and possibly even divers.
Over the coming days and weeks, we should expect to see a forensic investigation into the failure to determine the cause.
However the dramatic drop in pressure to only 7 bar (~60 m of water) suggests that the pipeline may have filled with seawater. If that’s the case, it may be that the pipeline will require such extensive repairs that restoring it to operability is cost prohibitive.
Prior to any investigation, Western media is likely to push the theory that Russia is behind this sabotage. Which makes little sense since there is no reason for Russia to destroy their own infrastructure they both spent billions constructing and have complete control over.
Who most clearly benefits from such a disaster? Since the same time last year, the US has more than doubled the volumes of gas it is sending to Europe.
In this context, it is readily apparent that the US has been motivated not only to spark and maintain the conflict between Russia and Ukraine but also in subordinating Europe to temporarily buoy its own flailing economy.
At the center of the conflict is Nord Stream 2, the newly built natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. The significant economic integration that is set to occur between Russia and Europe’s biggest economy represents a direct threat to US hegemony.
Prior to this leak, the only thing preventing flow through the pipeline was a regulatory block placed in February by German Chancellor Scholz at the behest of the US. Earlier today, protests demanding the pipeline be opened erupted in Germany. The timing is simply incredible.
If a pipeline is closed simply due to a regulatory block, the only impediment to opening the valves is political. But if a pipeline is destroyed, there is no need to worry about a change in Chancellor.
This relentless pursuit of monopoly control over Europe’s energy supply is the most clear demonstration of how Europe is being imperialized by the U.S. Thus it is no coincidence that, in the absence of communist leadership, Europe is seeing a rise in fascist govts as a result.
We’re going to have to wait for the investigation, but if you wanted to sabotage a new undersea pipeline while making it appear as an accident, one way to do it would be to trigger a very small submarine landslide.
Another possible pipeline sabotage technique with plausible deniability is the use of unexploded ordinance left over from WW2.
NORDSTREAM 1 SUFFERS PRESSURE DROP TOO!
Late Monday into Tuesday (Europe time) reports began surfacing about pressure drops in ***BOTH*** Nord Stream lines, 1 and 2!
CONFIRMED: massive leaks in both NS pipelines. The only remaining intact gas pipelines connecting Russia with Western Europe run overland through Belarus and Ukraine.
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
If this is true, it was almost certainly sabotage perpetrated by the US. And it could very well be interpreted by the Russians as an act of war.
Most likely because they knew the Germans were thinking long and hard about opening the line before winter sets in.
Want clear indication this was U.S. sabotage? Listen to Joe Biden from July 2, 2022 saying “There will be no Nordstream 2, we will bring an end to it.”
ttt
And lest you think Biden had some slip of the tongue or Dementia-moment, give ear to Victoria Nuland at the US State Department, six months EARLIER, on January 27, almost a month before Russia entered Ukraine:
(NB. See above video -ed)
Who did this is now almost immaterial -except for starting a war . . . Doesn’t matter who did it, or what did it, it means GERMANY HAS NO GAS.
Anyone who doesn’t now realize WW3 has begun is simply not paying attention.
UPDATE 9:17 AM EDT TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
“There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 – one in the Swedish economic zone and one in the Danish economic zone. It turns out that Nord Stream 1 is actually TWO separate pipes! BOTH pipes are ruptured!
They are very near each other”
The other rupture, of the brand new Nord Stream 2 is at a THIRD pipeline. So THREE pipes have been ruptured, in different areas. This was no ship anchor accident, it looks more and more as a deliberate act.
“The destruction that occurred on the same day at once on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented.
Experts say repairs on both pipelines could take up to several years.
Initial investigation into the situation has revealed that by chance, over the last few days the USS KEARSARGE (LHD-3) incl. Fleet was traveling in the very area where the Nord stream pipeline sabotage is now.
Here is ship data:
The last location reports from Marinetraffic shows the KEARSAGE and its fleet north of Bornholm.
According to some press reports from a few days ago, the ship was also east and south of Bornholm (where the pipeline runs) and switched off its AIS tracking system there.
The fact that the Nordstream pipe ruptures are in Danish territorial waters is of course no coincidence. The Russians, in order to check and repair this, would again need a permit from the Danes, as was already the case with the construction.
What was the USS KEARSAGE doing in that area when it shut off its AIS tracking? Planting time-delayed explosives???????
UPDATE 9:44 AM EDT —
SEISMIC ACTIVITY (BLASTING) REPORTS NORWAY
The Norwegian Earthquake Situation Center (NORSAR) reports a seismic activity of magnitude 2.2 in the area of Bornholm for last night at 19:03 clock local time.
It could be an explosion in the area, which corresponds approximately to the damage site of the pipelines.
From Gonzalo Lira
