Fortuna starts finishing Nord Stream-2 pipes in German waters

MOSCOW, Dec 11 (PRIME) -- Pipe-laying vessel Fortuna has started laying pipelines of the unfinished part of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline in the German waters, operator Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement on Friday.

“Nord Stream 2 confirms resumption of pipe laying scheduled for December 11, 2020, as was noted in the notification to the sailors of the Federal Waterways and Shipping Agency of Stralsund, Germany,” the statement read.

Fortuna will lay a 2.6-kilometer branch of the pipeline in Germany’s exclusive economic zone at the depth of less than 30 meters, the company said.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom is implementing the project together with Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

Offshore contractor Allseas stopped work on the Nord Stream-2 in December 2019 after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a defense budget envisaging spending on counteraction against Russia in various areas, including sanctions against the project.

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