The suspected "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline leak seems to have made new progress.
According to the "German Editorial Network" (RND) on the 13th, citing the US "Wired" magazine, satellite images show that a few days before the leak was discovered, two large ships that turned off the tracking system appeared around the leak.
SpaceKnow, a satellite imagery analysis company, did not release the images, but NATO officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said NATO had received the company's monitoring data, which could help the investigation.
Screenshot of the report
Jerry Javornicky, CEO and co-founder of SpaceKnow, said the company analyzed images from multiple satellite systems and found that in the weeks leading up to the Nord Stream pipeline leak, 25 vessels, including cargo ships and large utility vessels, appeared within kilometers of the leak site.
Among them, two large ships between 95 and 130 meters in length did not turn on the Automatic Ship Identification System (AIS) and happened to pass through the area a few days before the gas leak was detected.
Javolniki referred to the two ships as "black ships." "They shut down their own beacons, which means there is no information about their movements, they try to hide their location information and general information from the world," he said. ”
According to international law, large ships must install and use AIS systems to avoid collisions with other vessels. When turned on, the system will announce the ship's name, location, direction of travel, speed and other information.
SpaceKnow uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery from satellites to detect ships with AIS systems turned off, a technology that has a wide range of military applications to detect many camouflaged targets at sea through the reflection of metals to microwaves.
Javolniki shared images of the alleged "black ship" with Wired, but added that the company's business is not deciding what might have happened or who is responsible, but providing data to authorities. He said NATO was asking for more information from the company and would report its findings to NATO once it confirmed that the ships corresponded to the images.
NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu declined to comment on the incident, but reiterated that NATO considered the incident a "deliberate and irresponsible act of sabotage." However, a NATO official who did not have permission to speak publicly revealed to Wired that NATO had received data from SpaceKnow and said satellite imagery could be useful for the investigation.
For his part, Gabriel Wernstedt, a spokesman for the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO), responded that the agency could not discuss its investigation or reveal whether it was looking at satellite data because of the "confidentiality" of its investigative actions. But Winster added that the Swedish Security Service is conducting a "criminal investigation into serious acts of sabotage" around the Nord Stream pipeline incident and analyzing what was seized in the on-site investigation.
The fourth leak is located in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but is very close to the two leaks previously found in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and is located somewhere in between. Image source: UK Sky News
However, does shutting down the AIS system mean "bad intentions"?
Otto Tabuns, director of the NGO Baltic Security Foundation, said it was "not a common practice" to shut down the AIS system unless the vessel had a classified military mission or a secret target. He pointed out that the Baltic Sea, one of the busiest seas in the world, is a "major artery" with many ships passing through, and ships passing through the area "have the responsibility" to turn on the AIS system.
But Andrey Kurekin, a scientist at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom, also cautioned that the ship's AIS system sometimes fails and its signal can be affected by the weather. "If there's a ship, you can see it in the SAR image, but it's not reported by the AIS system, that doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the ship," he said. The report also pointed out that signals from AIS transponders can also be manipulated.
From September 26 to 28, four leaks were found in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream-2 submarine pipelines that carry natural gas to Europe, located in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden, respectively. The Danish and Swedish seismic monitoring agencies observed strong shaking in the area where the leak site was located that day, and considered it to have had an "explosion". Both governments and the European Union suspect that the leak was caused by "sabotage."
CNN previously quoted Western intelligence officials as saying that Russian warships had been found near the leak of the pipeline. Russia denies this claim and names the United States and Britain. ABC also pointed out that the US Navy amphibious assault ship "Mount Kisach" was participating in international military exercises in the Baltic Sea at that time.
According to the German media "Der Spiegel" weekly, a person familiar with the matter revealed that as early as a few weeks before the accident, the German government received a warning from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that the "Nord Stream" pipeline in the Baltic Sea may be attacked.
Denmark and Sweden have each launched investigations into the pipeline leak, but have refused to involve Russia. The Nord Stream 1 operator, which was later approved by the Swedish side, sent vessels to Swedish waters at the end of October to investigate, and earlier this month reported that preliminary data collection had been completed and that multiple human-influenced pits and pipeline debris had been found on the seabed. According to Reuters reported on the 13th, the Danish Geographic Data Agency has also approved the "Nord Stream-1" operator to conduct an investigation in the waters of Denmark's exclusive economic zone.
In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin said late last month that Gazprom had been allowed to participate in the investigation of the leak of the Nord Stream pipeline. On November 14, Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, said Russia had intelligence on the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline. He said it is possible for Russia to negotiate with the West, but certain conditions need to be determined.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.