Arrest warrant for dive instructor over Nordstream pipeline sabotage

[tarponchik]

They wouldn't have needed anything approaching several hundred kilos of explosives to breach a pressurized pipeline.

Did you read the WSJ article linked above?

"Armed only with diving equipment, satellite navigation, a portable sonar and open-source maps of the seabed charting the position of the pipelines, the crew set out. The four divers worked in pairs, according to people familiar with the German investigation. Operating in pitch-dark, icy waters, they handled a powerful explosive known as HMX that was wired to timer-controlled detonators. A small amount of the light explosive would be sufficient to rip open the high-pressure pipes."

Traces of the HMX were found on the boat.

Six people, including 4 with rebreathers, and enough supplies for several dives, would certainly fit on a 50' (15m) cruising sailboat. This is the model that was allegedly used: BAVARIA C50 Interior | BAVARIA YACHTS

I trust MIT scientists a bit more than some wise guys at WSJ. Also, next time you dive, take a 1,500 Psi tank with you. Open it at the max depth you get to and check, if it makes a shock wave or just bubbles.

 

[tursiops]

Also, next time you dive, take a 1,500 Psi tank with you. Open it at the max depth you get to and check, if it makes a shock wave or just bubbles.

Wrong test. Try an explosive next to the tank and see what happens then. Opening a valve is not the same.

 

[lowwall]

I trust MIT scientists a bit more than some wise guys at WSJ. Also, next time you dive, take a 1,500 Psi tank with you. Open it at the max depth you get to and check, if it makes a shock wave or just bubbles.

What MIT scientists?

There is a rather substantial difference between opening a valve in a tank and using explosives to rip a large hole in it. The total potential energy of the compressed gas in the tank is the same either way (of course), but the amount of time over which that energy is released is radically different.

The formula for the energy of a compressed gas is the pressure x the volume. If we specify the units as joules for energy (E), bar for pressure (P}, and liters for volume (V) then we get:
E = P x V x 450

Thus for a 240bar 12L tank:
240 x 12 x 450 = 1,242,000 joules

You could envision that as the energy required to boil 3.5 liters of water or the energy of 300 grams (roughly 2 hand grenades) of TNT exploding. The only difference is the speed of the energy release.

It was reported that 5m of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are missing at the rupture site. Let's use our formula to see how much energy was contained in that 5m section.

The internal diameter of the pipeline which was pressurized to 105 bar was 115.3cm and thus the volume for a 5m length was π x 57.65 x 57.65 x 500 = 5220 liters.

105 x 5220 x 450 = 246.6 million joules

This is approximately the energy in 60 kilos of TNT.

 

[Vicko]

The pipe was buried in 1-2m of gravel and concrete.
Finding it is easy, diving it is trivial. Half the rebreather divers on this forum could do it, and most of us are fat nerds.

Excavating or placing enough explosive to blast trough it on the other hand. Not that easy.

 

[Pearlman]

It’s not all sinister as it sounds…The WaPo article makes one thing clear - “The Beer made me do it …” (Substitute wine/Vodka as per taste)…
It was just a frivolous drunken adventure …

 

[Kay Dee]

So you seriously believe the boat as pictured could take the dive gear and several hundred kilos of explosives? The Swedes reported shock of 2.2 magnitude on Richter scale.

Could? Yes. Did it? I dont know.

 

[tarponchik]

What MIT scientists?

There is a rather substantial difference between opening a valve in a tank and using explosives to rip a large hole in it. The total potential energy of the compressed gas in the tank is the same either way (of course), but the amount of time over which that energy is released is radically different.

The formula for the energy of a compressed gas is the pressure x the volume. If we specify the units as joules for energy (E), bar for pressure (P}, and liters for volume (V) then we get:
E = P x V x 450

Thus for a 240bar 12L tank:
240 x 12 x 450 = 1,242,000 joules

You could envision that as the energy required to boil 3.5 liters of water or the energy of 300 grams (roughly 2 hand grenades) of TNT exploding. The only difference is the speed of the energy release.

It was reported that 5m of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are missing at the rupture site. Let's use our formula to see how much energy was contained in that 5m section.

The internal diameter of the pipeline which was pressurized to 105 bar was 115.3cm and thus the volume for a 5m length was π x 57.65 x 57.65 x 500 = 5220 liters.

105 x 5220 x 450 = 246.6 million joules

This is approximately the energy in 60 kilos of TNT.

60 kilos of TNT? I am not impressed. Especially, if you spread this over the distance.