Russian Pipe-Laying Vessel Continues Work on Nord Stream 2 Project in German Waters

Previously, a lawsuit filed by the German environmental charity Nabu against the construction of the gas pipeline halted the issuance of the work permit by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, but it later said the work could continue in May.

Despite pressure from the US, Russia's Fortuna vessel has continued building the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and is currently working in German waters in accordance with official permits, a Nord Stream 2 AG spokesperson told the DPA on Sunday.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in Hamburg earlier approved the continuation of work and says pipes will be placed along a 2km section in the German Exclusive Economic Zone, and can be assembled later.

According to Nord Stream 2, Russia's Akademik Tscherski pipe-laying vessel is carrying out ongoing work in Danish waters.

The Nord Stream 2 project aims to lay a 745-mile-long offshore twin pipeline that will carry up to 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, and Sweden. The project has met strong opposition from Washington, which claims it threatens European energy security and is tying to peddle its own liquefied natural gas as an alternative.

EU countries including Germany have argued that it's not up to Washington to make decisions on European energy security, while Moscow has repeatedly underlined that the project is purely economic, and that the White House's opposition is unfair competition.

The US slapped sanctions on the project in 2019, prompting Swiss pipelay company Allseas to withdraw. After a one-year hiatus, the construction was resumed in December 2020 by Russia's Fortuna, which was joined by Akademik Cherskiy in late April.

On Wednesday, the US administration announced that it would lift sanctions on Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG and its chief executive Matthias Warnig, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday that the move was in Washington's “national interest.” Germany, the main beneficiary of the Russian-led project, has welcomed the decision.

On Friday, however, the US Department of Treasury rolled out sanctions on three Russian entities and 13 vessels over their participation in the Nord Stream 2 project, with vessels Akademik Cherskiy,  Vladislav Strizhov, Yury Topchev, and Baltiyskiy Issledovatel and others put on the sanctions list. The sanctioned companies are Russia's Marine Rescue Service, Mortransservice, and the Samara Heat and Energy Property Fund.