Denmark has recovered a cylindrical object spotted near the sabotaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that was touted as suspicious by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the Danish Energy Agency announced Wednesday, adding it was a “smoke buoy”.
The agency said in a statement that the object had been recovered at a depth of 73 metres (239.5 feet) and that a “representative of the owner, Nord Stream 2 AG, was present during the salvage.”
According to the agency, the recovery was completed on March 28.
“Investigations indicate that the object is an empty maritime smoke buoy, which is used for visual marking,” it said in a statement, adding that “the object does not pose a safety risk.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who revealed the discovery of the object earlier this month, said experts believe that it could be a signal antenna to activate an explosive in that part of the pipeline.
Nearly six months after the explosions that hit the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, it is still a mystery who was responsible for the underwater sabotage, despite criminal investigations in the countries bordering the damaged part of the pipeline — Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
Russian energy giant Gazprom holds a majority stake in the twin pipelines, with the rest owned by German, Dutch and French companies.
German prosecutors said earlier this month that, in January, investigators searched a ship suspected of having transported explosives used in the blasts.
Confirmation of the searches came after the New York Times reported that US officials had seen new intelligence indicating that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was responsible for the sabotage.
The Ukrainian government denied involvement in the action, while the Kremlin rejected the Times report as a “diversion”.
