Finland Gas Pipeline Leak Likely Caused by ‘Outside Activity,’ President Says
- 7 months ago
Finland Gas Pipeline Leak Likely Caused by ‘Outside Activity,’ President Says.
A subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea have been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act, the Finnish government said on Tuesday.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO was sharing its information over the damage and stands ready to support the allies concerned. Finland joined the military alliance in April, while Estonia has been a member since 2004.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline was shut early on Sunday on concerns that gas was leaking from a hole in the 77-km (48-mile) pipeline. Finnish operator Gasgrid said it could take months or more to repair.
"It is likely that damage to both the gas pipeline and the communication cable is the result of outside activity. The cause of the damage is not yet clear, the investigation continues in cooperation between Finland and Estonia," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement on Tuesday.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the damage to the pipeline was "worrying", but that Finland's energy supply remained stable and that the damage to the telecommunications cable did not affect Finland's overall connectivity.
"It is too early to draw conclusions on who or what caused the damage," Orpo told a press conference.
Gas accounts for 5% of Finland's energy supply, he added.
Finnish telecommunications operator Elisa, which operates the damaged cable, told Reuters the distance from the cable to the Balticconnector pipeline was "significant", but declined to comment on the exact length between them.
The damage to the gas pipeline was believed to have taken place in Finnish waters, while the telecoms cable breach was in Estonian waters, Finnish authorities said.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, some of the gas transported by the Balticconnector came via pipeline from neighbouring Russia, but Finland has since year stopped importing Russian pipeline gas.
Norwegian seismology institute Norsar said on Tuesday it had identified "a probable explosion" close to the location of the pipeline in the Baltic Sea at around the time of the outage early on Sunday, but said there was significant uncertainty in the data and that more analysis was required.
The indication of an explosion came from data collected at seismic stations along the Finnish coast, Norsar said.
DELIBERATE OR ACCIDENTAL?
A spokesperson for the Finnish defence forces said it did currently not see any military threat against Finland.
The Finnish bureau of investigation has initiated an investigation into the external damage to the pipeline.
"We are still verifying if the damage is caused deliberately or accidentally," the bureau said, though it added that the size of the damage was such that it indicated deliberate action.
Causing this kind of damage to the pipeline requires "special knowledge", the Finnish national bureau of investigation said.
"This act could not h
A subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea have been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act, the Finnish government said on Tuesday.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO was sharing its information over the damage and stands ready to support the allies concerned. Finland joined the military alliance in April, while Estonia has been a member since 2004.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline was shut early on Sunday on concerns that gas was leaking from a hole in the 77-km (48-mile) pipeline. Finnish operator Gasgrid said it could take months or more to repair.
"It is likely that damage to both the gas pipeline and the communication cable is the result of outside activity. The cause of the damage is not yet clear, the investigation continues in cooperation between Finland and Estonia," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement on Tuesday.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the damage to the pipeline was "worrying", but that Finland's energy supply remained stable and that the damage to the telecommunications cable did not affect Finland's overall connectivity.
"It is too early to draw conclusions on who or what caused the damage," Orpo told a press conference.
Gas accounts for 5% of Finland's energy supply, he added.
Finnish telecommunications operator Elisa, which operates the damaged cable, told Reuters the distance from the cable to the Balticconnector pipeline was "significant", but declined to comment on the exact length between them.
The damage to the gas pipeline was believed to have taken place in Finnish waters, while the telecoms cable breach was in Estonian waters, Finnish authorities said.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, some of the gas transported by the Balticconnector came via pipeline from neighbouring Russia, but Finland has since year stopped importing Russian pipeline gas.
Norwegian seismology institute Norsar said on Tuesday it had identified "a probable explosion" close to the location of the pipeline in the Baltic Sea at around the time of the outage early on Sunday, but said there was significant uncertainty in the data and that more analysis was required.
The indication of an explosion came from data collected at seismic stations along the Finnish coast, Norsar said.
DELIBERATE OR ACCIDENTAL?
A spokesperson for the Finnish defence forces said it did currently not see any military threat against Finland.
The Finnish bureau of investigation has initiated an investigation into the external damage to the pipeline.
"We are still verifying if the damage is caused deliberately or accidentally," the bureau said, though it added that the size of the damage was such that it indicated deliberate action.
Causing this kind of damage to the pipeline requires "special knowledge", the Finnish national bureau of investigation said.
"This act could not h