The article has been updated.

– It is an unchanged flow since yesterday, it has neither decreased nor increased, says the Coast Guard’s press spokesperson Mattias Lindholm.

The two leaks appear on the surface as two foaming circular fields, 180 and 800 meters in diameter respectively, with a distance of approximately six kilometers between them.

– It foams in fairly high cascades, approximately 10 meters above the surface.

The authority currently has no forecast for when the flow may decrease, but says that it is in dialogue with Nord Stream.

Ships with chemical divers are on site to guarantee safety. With the leak taking place so far out to sea, there are no risks for people on land.

– We are calm about the security measures that have been taken. It can simply bubble up, says Mattias Lindholm.

May be permanent

German security authorities fear that the damage to Nord Stream’s gas pipelines is permanent. If Nord Stream 1 is not repaired “quickly”, it will never be able to be put into service again, reports the newspaper Tagesspiegel citing official sources.

According to the newspaper, the large amounts of salt water that now rushes into the cracks will create corrosion and lead to the wires rusting.

The leakage occurs in three places. The leak on Nord Stream 2 was discovered on Monday afternoon after a sudden drop in pressure in the pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany’s northern coast. Nord Stream 1, with roughly the same route, also reported a drop in pressure.

According to the Swedish government, one of the leaks took place in the Swedish economic zone and two in the Danish economic zone, northeast of Bornholm.

Likely sabotage

Swedish, Danish and Norwegian institutes that monitor seismological activity announced on Tuesday that they had registered two powerful underwater explosions in the area of ​​the leak, which also corresponded in time to when the leaks were discovered.

Both Sweden’s and Denmark’s prime ministers suspect sabotage.

– The information situation is far from complete, but we take the incident seriously. Detonations have occurred and it is probably sabotage, said Magdalena Andersson (S) at a press meeting at the government office in Stockholm on Tuesday evening.

– It is the authorities’ firm opinion that it was a deliberate act and that no accident is behind it, said Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen (S) at a press conference in Copenhagen.

On Wednesday, Norway’s Prime Minister also came out and called what happened sabotage.

Investigation is delayed

According to Denmark’s Minister of Defense Morten Bødskov (S), there is so much gas in the lines that it will take some time before the question of sabotage can be answered.

– If you listen to those who know something about how much gas is in the pipes, how long it takes for the pressure to drop, the reality is that it can take a week or two weeks before it’s calm enough in the area for you to see what has happened, says Bødskov to Ritzau.

Magnus Genrup is professor of power plant engineering at Lund University of Technology. He points out that it is difficult to speculate whether the gas supply has been cut off from the Russian side, but that it is highly likely. The fact that gas is now bubbling out is, however, natural, he points out:

– The system itself has been under pressure all along. You don’t want to make it pressureless for various reasons that I can’t exactly answer. This means that there is a large accumulated volume of gas in the pipe and that is what is leaking out now, he tells TT.

The line has not been used, in connection with sanctions against Russia. However, Magnus Genrup points out that it means problems if seawater eventually flows in.

– There are probably valves that are closed, then I can’t account for whether you top up, but that would be very strange. You absolutely do not want to get seawater in because that means a risk of corrosion in the pipe.

The US promises support

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod spoke on the phone with his American counterpart Antony Blinken on Tuesday evening. According to Kofod, Blinken promised American support to Denmark, Europe and Europe’s energy security.

The American security service CIA warned Germany of possible attacks on the gas pipeline several weeks ago, according to information given to the German newspaper Der Spiegel.

The Norwegian Security Police warns the government of increased Russian threats to Norwegian oil and gas. This concerns, among other things, increased drone and flight activity in the North Sea, and Russian ships that have been mapping the Norwegian pipeline system for a long time.