NORD STREAM 2 DESPITE SANCTIONS

PLATTS - 25 Jan 2021 - The vessel approved to carry out pipe-laying for the unfinished Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany has begun preparatory works at the site in Danish waters, a spokesman for the development company said Jan. 25.

The Fortuna arrived at the site of the pipeline to the south of the Danish island of Bornholm on Jan. 22, according to cFlow, Platts trade flow software.

The resumption of work in the Danish offshore Exclusive Economic Zone using the Fortuna comes despite US sanctions imposed Jan. 19 against both the vessel and its Russian owner, KVT-RUS.

"The laybarge Fortuna has started works in the construction corridor in the Danish EEZ, ahead of the resumption of the Nord Stream 2 construction," the Nord Stream 2 spokesman said. "All works are performed in line with relevant permits," he said.

The Fortuna left the German port of Wismar on Jan. 14, then spent seven days off the German port of Rostock before moving Jan. 22 into Danish waters.

The Nord Stream 2 development company has been in a position to resume work using the Fortuna since Jan. 15 after the Danish Maritime Authority published a notice to seafarers advising that work to lay the remaining kilometers of Nord Stream 2 would resume in Danish waters from that date.

The DMA notice to seafarers continues to state that the Fortuna will be laying the pipeline with support from the Murman and Baltic Explorer vessels.

The Murman was also in Danish waters not far from the Fortuna, while the Baltic Explorer remains in the Swedish port of Ystad, according to cFlow.

Merkel position

A little over 150 km of Nord Stream 2 remains to be laid in Danish and German waters, but the threat of US sanctions against companies involved in laying the pipeline has led to long delays in its completion.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- a long-standing supporter of the project -- said Jan. 21 her position regarding Nord Stream 2 was unchanged, and she would talk about the project with US President Joe Biden.

The imposition of sanctions against the Fortuna and its owner was one of the final actions carried out by the Trump administration.

There was already the threat of US sanctions in place against companies involved in laying Nord Stream 2 and providing services such as insurance and certification.

That -- and the fact Nord Stream 2 will alter the European gas landscape significantly once operational -- has led to major interest in the timetable for pipe-laying work.

Without Nord Stream 2, Russia's Gazprom may have to rely on the transit of gas via Ukraine in much larger volumes than it intended when it signed a five-year deal at the end of 2019.

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