The Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a suspected gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The German government said it was working with the Danish authorities and local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly overnight. Denmark’s energy agency declined comment.

The pipeline has been one of the flashpoints in an escalating energy war between Europe and Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that has pummelled major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring.

Nord Stream 2’s operator said pressure in the undersea pipeline, which had contained some amount of gas sealed inside despite never becoming operational, dropped from 105 to 7 bars overnight.

The Russian-owned pipeline, which was intended to double the volume of gas flowing from St. Petersburg under the Baltic Sea to Germany, had just been completed and filled with 300 million cubic metres of gas when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cancelled it shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Overnight the Nord Stream 2 landfall dispatcher registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline,” Nord Stream 2’s operator said in a statement.

“The maritime authorities have established a safety zone of five nautical miles around the location as a precaution. Investigation is ongoing.”

European countries have resisted Russian calls to allow the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to operate and accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon. Russia denies doing so and blames the West for gas shortages.

“We are currently in contact with the authorities concerned in order to clarify the situation. We still have no clarity about the causes and the exact facts,” said a statement from the German economy ministry.

The Swiss-based operator, which has legally been wound up, said it had informed all relevant authorities about the leak.

Gazprom referred questions about the incident to the Nord Stream 2 operator.

Russia has cut off gas supplies to several countries and also halted flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, blaming Western sanctions for hindering operations.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Thomas Escritt and Christian Kraemer; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Paul Carrel, Kirsten Donovan and Andrea Ricci)