The operator of the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has said that it has been unable to conduct its own inspection of its pipeline more than a week after suspected sabotage triggered massive leaks.
Nord Stream AG, based in Switzerland, said it could not inspect the underwater Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea site due to a lack of permits, and Danish authorities say the process can take over 20 working days.
According to the statement, Nord Stream AG has contracted a company from Norway to investigate the leaks. The company's vessel also needs a permit from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to be deployed.
The company said that according to the Swedish authorities, a ban on shipping, anchoring, diving, using underwater vehicles, and geophysical mapping has been introduced to allow the authorities to conduct a state investigation around the damage sites.
Nord Stream AG will do its examination once a police investigation of the "crime scene" is completed and the cordon is lifted, the company said.
Europe is investigating what caused the pipelines designed to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany to burst last week in an act of suspected sabotage.
Neither pipeline was in use at the time of the suspected blasts, but they were filled with gas that began spewing out and bubbling to the surface of the Baltic Sea. Pressure in the pipelines has since stabilized, their operators say.
The operators of Nord Stream 2, also based in Switzerland, said Copenhagen police were handling the investigation of the crime scene at the Nord Stream 2 leak in the Danish exclusive economic zone.
Nord Stream Operators Await End Of Investigation To Inspect Damage Caused By Suspected Sabotage
An image released on September 27 taken from an aircraft of the Swedish Coast Guard shows the release of gas emanating from a leak on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.