Project Operator Says Nord Stream 2 Ready to Complete Last Leg of Pipeline

There are no seasonal restrictions at present, including cod spawning, to complete the last leg of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Nord Stream 2 AG, the project operator, told TASS on Monday.

“The permit provision regarding seasonal restrictions (July to August) related to cod spawning applies to construction works in the fisheries restriction zone, known as the Bornholm Basin. The pipelines have already been installed through the Bornholm Basin fisheries restriction zone. There are no seasonal restrictions for the remaining pipelay in Danish EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone),” the company said.

On Saturday, the German Die Welt newspaper reported that no construction work was under way at the bottom of the Baltic Sea near Bornholm Island. The newspaper stressed that in July and August, cod spawns in those waters and work in that area is prohibited on environmental grounds. However, according to preliminary information, Russia will be able to start work in September, the newspaper said.

On July 6, DEA, at the request of Nord Stream 2 AG, the project’s operator, granted a permit for the use of anchored vessels on the unfinished section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline southeast of Bornholm Island.

In the new decision, the agency stressed that the rest of the pipeline, passing through the exclusive economic zone of Denmark, is outside the area where trawling, anchorage and bottom work are not recommended due to the danger of dumped chemical warfare agents entering the marine environment.

The Nord Stream 2 project involves building two gas pipeline strings with the total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters to be pumped annually from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The gas pipeline has been 93% completed to date.

The delay in the project was due to the fact that at the end of December 2019, as a result of U.S. sanctions, Switzerland’s Allseas halted work on the gas pipeline and withdrew its vessels.