Following the attack on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 of September 26, 2022, there were various speculations in the media about the guilty demolition of pipelines. They were besides attended by Russian propaganda, accusing Western states of carrying out sabotage. 1 evidence of NATO's earlier attempts to destruct the infrastructure was expected to be an alleged attack on 1 of the Nord Stream strands with the aid of the SeaFox mine destroyer in 2015. However, this message has small to do with reality.
False
More about our evaluation system:Such narratives were duplicated by many social media accounts, which in large part citing On 1 source. First on the alleged effort to harm gas pipelines in 2015 reminded Gazprom, with the mouth of his spokesperson Sergei Kurpikinov, on the air of the largest Russian tv – the First Channel. This took place on October 10, 2022. The information was rapidly reproduced by another Russian propaganda centres, specified as the Russian press agency TASSwhether the authoritative Russian account Ministry of abroad Affairs On Facebook. This was expected to confirm that NATO is capable of specified attacks and is most likely besides behind the demolition of the Nord Stream gas pipelines of September 2022.
Source: tass.comAt the same time, akin claims began to circulate on social media. According to the Georgian portal Myth Detective, This happened in parallel with the information provided by authoritative Russian sources, which was October 10, 2022, among others on Facebook (in Georgian). Prokremlin communicative has duplicated, among another things, Kim Dotcom, controversial founder of the portal Megaupload. It besides revolved in Polish on Telegram is Twitter.
Source: twitter.comLost Unmanned
Contrary to the claims of Russian propaganda, SeaFox did not belong to any of the NATO countries. The device was found on November 6, 2015 right next to the gas pipeline, as we read in official statement Nord Stream. It remained identified as belonging to the Swedish Armed Forces and then safely removed by them. As we read in a Swedish statement, During the exercise, the cable utilized to drive SeaFox was broken, resulting in a failure of control of the vehicle. In specified a situation, the tiny cargo placed in the unmanned vehicle was automatically disarmed.
Photos utilized by Russian propaganda as evidence of an attack aimed at Nord Stream. Source: twitter.comIt should be noted at this point that Sweden is not NATO. Only a full-scale invasion Russia au Ukraine It caused this state to take clear steps to join the Alliance. authoritative request to join NATO Sweden filed until May 18, 2022. This is so contrary to the statements that Sergei Kurpikinov has made. Interestingly, in 2015, erstwhile the incidental occurred, the largest Russian media, specified as RIA Novosti is RTThey did not claim that the vehicle belonged to 1 of the Alliance members.
What is SeaFox?
SeaFox is remote-controlled an underwater vehicle (ROV) designed to destruct marine mines. It was produced by the German company Atlas Elektronik. It's guided by a wire. It comes in 2 versions – “C” and “I”. The first is simply a combat vehicle utilized to blow up mines with a tiny charge. The second is the version utilized to inspect identified threats. SeaFox is utilized by the Navy of 11 countries, including Finland, Germany or Japan.
British SeaFox version “I”. Source: British Ministry of DefenceImportant information is that in the version “C” the vehicle has A warhead weighing only 1.5 kg. According to the Danish and Swedish authorities, the detonation that destroyed the pipelines, has power “a fewer 100 kilograms of explosives”. It seems impossible for a tiny vehicle like SeaFox to be able to harm so much over a four-centimeter thickness Gas pipeline walls. In addition, as already mentioned earlier, in the event of a failure of control of the vehicle, the burden placed in it is automatically disarmed, making its detonation almost impossible.
Summary
The attacks on Nord Stream gas pipelines echoed widely in Europe and worldwide. At this point, there is no clear evidence of who is liable for the bombing of the infrastructure. However, Russian propaganda decided very rapidly to exploit the 2015 situation and indirectly accuse NATO countries of sabotaging. Narrations were immediately duplicated on social media, where more unambiguous thesis was put. In fact, SeaFox was not owned by any NATO country, but by Sweden. It besides has besides tiny an explosive to importantly harm the pipeline pipe. These narratives should so be considered false.
Sources
Myth Detective: https://mythdetector.ge/en/what-do-we-know-about-the-drone-seafox-and-how-is-it-linked-with-the-explosion-of-north-stream-pipelines/
Ellinika Hoaxes: https://mythdetector.ge/en/what-do-we-know-about-the-drone-seafox-and-how-is-it-linked-with-the-explosion-of-north-stream-pipelines/
Atlas Electronics: https://www.atlas-electronik.com/solutions/mine-warfare-systems/seafoxr.html
Swedish Armed Forces: https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/aktuellt/2015/11/analysen-av-foremal-vid-gasledning-klar/
Government of Sweden: https://www.government.se/government-policy/sweden-and-nato/swedens-road-to-nato/
NS Energy: https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/nord-stream-2-pipeline-project-russia-germany/
Photos
Content public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. photograph LA(Photo) Pete Smith
