The section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters is probably completed

The section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters is probably completed

Work on the construction of the disputed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea has progressed significantly, despite US sanctions. The Austrian news agency APA informed about it on Monday. According to Refinitiv, the Russian ship Fortuna, which is laying pipes in the area, has already left the site. This indicates that the 2.6-kilometer-long section in German waters is complete. The ship is currently on its way to the port in the German city of Wismar. It should continue work in Danish waters in mid-January. According to the APA agency, the project is about 90 percent complete, the last about a hundred kilometers are missing. The opinion of the consortium for the construction of the gas pipeline was not available. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is to transport Russian natural gas across the Baltic Sea to Germany and Western Europe outside the traditional transit routes passing through Ukrainian and Polish territories. The US is an outspoken opponent of this pipeline. Together with Eastern European countries, which are also rejecting the project, the US government claims that it will increase Europe's dependence on Russian energy. The Kremlin, on the other hand, accuses Washington of trying to stop the project in order to force European customers to buy more expensive American liquefied natural gas. Work on the project was suspended last December after US President Donald Trump signed legislation imposing sanctions on companies associated with the Nord Stream 2 project.