After Sweden, Denmark ends investigation into Nord Stream pipeline explosions

Denmark has ended its investigation concerning the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines that occurred in September 2022, becoming the second country to do so.

Germany, Sweden and Denmark each initiated respective national investigations into the incident after four gas leaks were found on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022, two in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and two in the Danish territory.

Sweden earlier this month closed its investigation concerning the explosions on the gas pipelines saying it lacked jurisdiction in the case.

“The investigation has led the authorities to conclude that there was deliberate sabotage of the gas pipelines. However, the assessment is that there are not sufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case in Denmark,” Copenhagen’s police said.

The twin Nord Stream pipeline system runs from Vyborg, Russia, to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany, and crosses the EEZs of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, as well as the territorial waters of Russia, Denmark, and Germany.

After the Norwegian and Swedish seismic institutes had confirmed that underwater blasts preceded the leaks, European authorities said that the incident could have been the result of “deliberate actions”.

In a letter sent to the UN Security Council together with Sweden and Denmark in July 2023, Germany said its inquiry had found subsea explosive traces in samples taken from a sailing yacht, which was chartered in the name of a person who used documents provided in order to hide the identity of the real charterer.

In line with this, Sweden’s analyses revealed explosive residue on several of the foreign objects that were found in the area in the Baltic Sea.

According to a report from the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS), an enormous amount of methane gas was released into the atmosphere due to damage to the pipelines.