It has been confirmed that a Russian special vessel was in the vicinity of the Nord Stream pipes before the explosion. Now suspicions are growing that Russia is behind the confirmed sabotage.
– They have been able to send a signal to the Western countries,” says intelligence expert Joakim von Braun.
It is the ship SS-750 that was seen in pictures next to the Nord Stream pipes four days after the explosion. The ship was rebuilt in the mid-1990s to be able to perform operations in deep water and down on the seabed. The ship has two mini-submarines and various hydroacoustic tools. Intelligence expert Joakim von Braun confirms that the ship could be used to carry out the kind of sabotage that Nord Stream experienced.
– This mini submarine has a grappling claw in the bow and then you also have TV cameras and searchlights so you can see what you are doing under the water, he says.
Joakim Von Braun believes that the new images provide more clarity as to what may have been the cause of the explosion.
– There is fairly solid evidence that they at least had the material capacity to carry out the whole thing, he says.
Theories about the explosion
According to the intelligence expert, there are various theories as to why Russia would have carried out the sabotage. Before they were blown up, the gas pipelines were worth close to their scrap value, so the explosion caused no economic damage.
– They have been able to send a signal to the western countries: “Here we have the capacity to do other things down at the bottom, be it the Baltic Sea, the North Sea or the Atlantic.”, says Joakim Von Braun.
The suspicious Russian display of capabilities and resources raises questions about what the country is capable of. There may be a risk of sabotage of both gas lines and lines for, for example, electricity and the internet.
– Large parts of the entire internet run on forty cables, twenty from Europe to the USA and twenty from the USA to Asia. Russia has the capacity to cut that off, if they wanted to.