Nord Stream’s secret

Gas leak in the Baltic Sea

Aerial images of the southern Baltic Sea near Bornholm show a huge slick of gas rising to the surface – it’s methane leaking from a major leak in one of the Nord Stream pipelines since Monday. The exact cause remains unclear, but telltale seismic signals picked up by monitoring stations in the area indicate powerful explosions near the pipelines.

Therefore, most experts and governments assume sabotage, but by whom and why, there has been only speculation so far. But no matter who it was, there was no difference in the outcome. Three of the four Nord Stream pipelines are unusable and large amounts of gas are leaking – and this is likely to continue for several days. At least the methane didn’t catch fire, As happened in a similar gas leak off Mexico in 2021.

Gas leaks pose a major hazard to watercraft in one of the world’s busiest marine areas. Gas bubbles reduce the density of the sea water and thus the buoyancy, so that a vessel trapped in the gas flow can sink to the sea floor like an elevator. Not even life jackets can save the crew – because their buoyancy will also disappear.