Thursday, April 13, 2023

Belgium & Nordstream affair

PREFACE/ISSUE

Exploring role of Belgium in Nordstream affair


My claim is that leaders know from early on who was behind yet they keep that secret due to geopolitical conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The Nordstream pipeline delivery routes were part of EU´n  energy security despite lowed deliveries in summer 2022.

 


Belgium is HQ of NATO and EU institutions. They are in the very centre of events.

There was a lot of coordination between EU leaders, leaders of NATO members  and it is assumed that the prime suspect and/or saboteur is well known. See e.g. here. 

Belgium

Belgium only relied on Russia for around 6 percent of its gas, and is instead a hub for supply to other countries in the European Union. 

The Belgian port of Zeebrugge is an important import centre for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Much of it is supplied by Qatar.

Nevertheless, high gas prices have affected households and industry.

I. Possible role of UK Astute class submarine S120 Ambush

12 Oct 2022 - This is our war as much as it is Ukraine’s, says UK defence procurement minister




[M: A UK nuclear submarine s120 Ambush has docked in Flaslane Scotland just a few days after the Nordstream affair. It is possible that it was involved in the attack on the Nordstream. The issue is described in earlies posts.]

 

8 Nov 2022 - Top secret operation is aborted after fire breaks out on nuclear sub as it heads for overseas base
 
A Royal Navy submarine which was fully armed with nuclear missiles aborted a top secret operation after a fire broke out onboard.

The £3billion HMS Victorious, which is one of Britain’s four Trident submarines, had been sailing to a base overseas when the electrical fire started six weeks ago.

The blaze, which destroyed an electrical converter, was quickly extinguished before the 30-year-old vessel returned to Scotland for repairs.

The 16,000-tonne sub is one of four that provides non-stop nuclear deterrent patrols - but was understood not to be in that role at the time. 

8 Nov 2022 -  British nuclear-armed sub resurfaces after fire onboard 

A Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine had to abandon its mission and resurface, after a fire broke out onboard following an electrical fault. 

The Ministry of Defence said the incident on HMS Victorious happened six weeks ago.   


II. Politics

23 Sept 2022 - CNO and Commander of Belgian Navy Meet; Discuss Increasing Capabilities and Capacity

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with the Commander of the Belgian Navy Rear Adm. Jan de Beurme at the Pentagon for an office call, Sept. 23.

The leaders discussed building maritime capabilities and capacity, as well as deterrence, defense and the need to continue to protect the stability and prosperity of the seas.

“Collectively, our capacity expands when we sail in company with like-minded navies around the world, and we are grateful for the continued partnership and collaboration with Belgium,” said Gilday. “We will continue to strengthen the bonds we share through increased operations, interoperability, and continued cooperation."

Both heads of navy emphasized the need to develop high-end warfare capabilities, such as advanced mine countermeasures and ballistic-missile defense, while also leveraging enhanced capabilities and technology. The Belgian navy is currently leading a Belgian-Dutch mine countermeasures replacement program, which will supply the Belgian and Royal Netherlands navies with six new minehunter vessels each.


25 Nov 2022 - 'Outrageous': Brussels sparks fury as it blocks export of nuclear defence tech to UK

The UK needs a so-called specialised isostatic press to maintain its nuclear arsenal, which includes the Trident II D5, the Royal Navy's ballistic missile system with a range of over 4,000 nautical miles

Britain and Belgium are locking horns in a furious despite after Brussels blocked the export of nuclear technology that plays a crucial role in maintaining the UK's nuclear deterrent.

 

III. Was UK planning to replace some Russian energy with alternatives as a policy to bring pipeline LNG and to develop alternatives?

24 September 2020 - UK can be 'Saudi Arabia of wind power' - PM Boris Johnson

12 May 2022 - Where will Britain’s future energy supply come from?


Russian imports supplied only 2.2% of energy used in the UK in 2021..
To account for future changes to gas and oil supply and secure more domestic resources, the Government plans to further utilise North Sea reserves alongside commissioning a scientific review of shale gas extraction.

The Institute for Government (IfG) said the security of the UK’s physical supply will “likely hold up” following possible Russian gas export disruptions to the EU, even without measures from the strategy, due to diversity of supply. 

17 May 2022 EU energy security: Implications for the UK

How EU dependency on Russian energy affects the UK

The UK is far less reliant on Russian gas than the EU, but security of EU gas supply matters to the UK because:

  • it affects the prices of UK gas and electricity;
  • it could affect the UK’s own security of supply if gas imports into the UK were re-directed to the EU;
  • energy exports are economically important to Russia and changes may therefore affect geopolitical relations.

UK-EU cooperation

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stimulated UK and EU cooperation on the security of energy supply. 

At the 30 March 2022 meeting of the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Energy, the UK and EU agreed to facilitate regular exchanges on the security of supply (PDF). They specifically discussed establishing a Working Group on Security of Supply as a matter of priority.

This is because there is insufficient LNG import capacity within the EUbut spare capacity in the UK as well as capacity on the pipelines from the UK to mainland Europe.30 May 2022 - Energy crisis: UK to become MAJOR exporter to EU with huge wind and solar boom

BRITAIN could soon find a way out of the energy crisis, as a new report suggests that the UK could receive a massive supply of green electricity.

28 August 2022 - PM Boris Johnson: The next few months will be tough but I’m convinced Britain’s bounceback will be golden 

We are ending our dependency on Russian hydrocarbons. In June, for the first time in decades, we did not import any fuel from Russia. The UK has already stepped up production of domestic gas – 26 per cent more this year than last. We are going to build a new  reactor every year and will have a colossal 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 – almost half our total electricity consumption. This British Energy Security Strategy is just a part of a vast  programme to make the economy more productive and competitive 

30 August 2022 - Jacob Rees-Mogg meets energy giants in bid to boost North Sea oil and gas supplies

City A.M. understands the Brexit Opportunities Minister and Liz Truss-backer held talks with energy giants including Shell over recent days, ahead of a desperate winter which will see energy bills spike to new records – driven by fears of supply shortages.

He is also looking to seal deals with companies operating in the waters of friendly allies such as Norway.

There is confusion over whether Rees-Mogg met oil and gas companies in his role as a Minister or as a supporter of Truss – with multiple Government departments refusing to comment. 

Truss’ senior team has claimed the meetings were set up by civil servants, and was not linked to her campaign.

19 Dec 2022 - The United Kingdom re-engages with the North Seas Energy Cooperation

The United Kingdom (UK) is re-engaging with the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC). At a signing ceremony on Sunday evening, the UK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NSEC members the European Commission to this effect. This will help make the North Sea the renewables powerhouse of Europe. The NSEC is how North Seas countries collaborate on offshore wind. Cross-border cooperation is key to offshore wind. Countries need to coordinate how they develop their offshore wind farms and connect them to the grid and how they impact on biodiversity.

[M: Belgium is a hub through which UK gets its exports back to the European Energy market post Brexit expulsion from the  Market Coupling Initiative. See a post: Mission accomplished - UK - from Energy Importer to Energy Exporter]

 [M: The importance/connection to wind suggested by LuxFree @LuxFree3 here]


CONCLUSION/SUMMARY:

  • It looks like the UK is a rogue state and other states try to minimize its dangerous weapons.

  • Blocking nuclear deterrent of a UN Security member council is a BIG issue. Only a BIG reason could be behind that.

  • The Astute class nuclear submarine HMS S-120 Ambush is my prime delivery vehicle suspect - here 

  • It was said that "If the criminal is bigger than the court, he can’t be found." (by Erik Andersson 🐘 @Erkperkhere) -> IF countries decided that they will not disclose who was it or delay the exposure as far as possible there should be indirect ways how to tell who has done it.

  • That is main reason why no international investigation exists. Shareholders of Nordsgream AG are from Germany, France, Netherland and Russia. Nordstream 2 AG is fully owned by Gazprom with loans from same companies and countries as Nordstream AG. Both companies are incorporated in Switzerland - post here

  • The suspect is a state actor. This means motives were part of wider policies - internal and external. UK fits as a prime suspect in both aspects - see here about UK energy security - Mission accomplished - UK - from Energy Importer to Energy Exporter

 

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