Gas leaks from Nord Stream 2 pipeline string near Bornholm

MOSCOW. Sept 27 (Interfax) - Gas has leaked from one of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipeline, project operator Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement.

"Emergency situation on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Overnight the Nord Stream 2 landfall dispatcher registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. The marine authorities of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia have been notified immediately. Investigation is ongoing," the company said in a statement.

The Danish maritime authority reported a gas leak off the coast of Bornholm island. The suspected source of the leak is immediately outside the country's territorial waters, in Denmark's exclusive economic zone. The location corresponds to the route of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The Danish authority warned ship traffic to remain outside a five-mile exclusion zone around the area of the incident.

Nord Stream 2 AG confirmed the reports from the Danish authorities about the location of the leak. In cooperation with coastal services it was established that the leak occurred in Denmark's exclusive economic zone southeast of Bornholm, and coastal services have established an exclusion zone with a radius of five nautical miles, the company said.

Afterward gas leaks have been found in Denmark's exclusive economic zone northeast of Bornholm island, the Danish maritime authority reported.

A five-mile exclusion zone for shipping has been established around the area of the leaks, the locations of which correspond to the route of the Nord Stream 1.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline with capacity to transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year runs from the Slavyanskaya compressor station in the Kingisepp district of Russia's Leningrad Region across the Baltic Sea to Germany. Both strings of the pipeline are currently full of gas and ready to operate, but the German authorities suspended the process of certifying the pipeline, while the United States imposed sanctions on project company Nord Stream 2 AG. The company was forced to terminate contracts with employees due to the sanctions.