Six Russian naval vessels were spotted near the Nord Stream pipeline “five days before the sabotage”.

A convoy of six Russian naval vessels was spotted near the Nord Stream pipeline just five days before the sabotage, it was reported yesterday.

Three of the four pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany were seriously damaged by explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26 last year, cutting off the global supply.

Russia has always denied any responsibility for the attack, blaming Western powers or Ukrainian groups, but new information now suggests that its ships were in the area in the days before the mass explosions.

It is believed that hundreds of kilograms of explosives and equipment would be needed to repair the extent of the damage last September, which occurred 80 meters below sea level.

But it is now being claimed that a Swedish warship may have spotted and pursued the Russian convoy and may have held it in a loop for three days, reports The Times.

Three of the four pipelines transporting Russian gas to Germany were badly damaged by explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26 last year. Pictured: a land-based section of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which link Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were hit by a series of unexplained explosions last September in what Moscow described as an act of “international terrorism”.

A report by open source intelligence researchers now claims to have identified anomalous activity by a Danish patrol ship and a Swedish warship, which may indicate they have spotted suspicious activity.

The researchers say the ships appeared to have seen something unusual on September 22 or 23, as they were said to be following a contingent of Russian naval vessels that broke away from a major exercise three days earlier.

These claims, first published on German news website T-Online, come from security sources and describe the convoy as two Russian tugs, a guard ship and a 1990-built SS-750 submarine rescue ship.

The SS-750 has its own mini-submarine called the AS-26, which can reach a depth of 80 meters and carry loads of up to 50 kg.

“It would make perfect sense to use something like the AS-26 for such an attack,” Johannes Riber, Danish corvette commander and military analyst, told T-Online.

“That would be the most plausible explanation so far for what happened to the Nord Stream pipeline.”

Publicly available navigation data can only support a portion of the extensive logs kept by researchers tracking the movements of Russian ships, including the SS-750.

Russia has said it has no interest in attacking its own infrastructure.

Exactly who was behind the attack remains unknown, but other theories blame the CIA or pro-Ukrainian elite commandos.

Just two days ago, a mysterious object was discovered near the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

A satellite image shows gas flowing from the Nord Stream pipeline into the water after the explosions

German, Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating the submarine explosions that caused four leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Danish Energy Agency released a photo late Thursday of a cylindrical object resting on the seabed near the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The agency said it was “possible” that the object was a maritime smoke buoy measuring 40cm high and 10cm wide and “does not pose an immediate safety risk”.

“In order to further clarify the nature of the object, the Danish authorities decided to recover the object with the help of the Danish military,” the statement said.

The agency added that it was still awaiting a response from the pipeline’s owner, majority state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom, before starting the salvage operation.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the device, found 30 kilometers from where it was found, could be explosive and pointed the finger at the US.

“Experts believe it could be an antenna to receive a signal to detonate an explosive that could be placed under the pipeline system,” Putin said.