US designates Russian pipe-laying vessel, owner

WASHINGTON/BERLIN, Feb 24 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Treasury on Monday added Russia’s Fortuna pipe-laying vessel and its owner KVT-RUS to yet another sanction regime intended to prevent the completion of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, the authority said in a statement.

Both the Russian-flagged vessel and the company were designated under Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act (PEESA) in addition to Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) used against them earlier, according to the statement.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the U.S. continues to review entities that may be involved in sanctionable activity related to the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.

Price explained there are more than 15 companies that are not subject to U.S. sanctions because they have shown efforts to wind down activities related to the Nord Stream-2 pipeline.

Separately, a subsidiary of the German reinsurance company Munchener Ruck in London has terminated its agreement with the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project, Munchener Ruck spokesman Frank Ziegler said on Tuesday.

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