Nord Stream 2 Construction in Danish Waters Is to Resume in January

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The construction of the last 147 km long section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is scheduled to begin on January15. From January 15, it is planned to resume construction of the last Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline section in Danish waters. This announced on Tuesday, December 22, the Danish Maritime Administration. The Fortuna barge will lay the pipes. It will be assisted by the ships "Murman" and "Baltic Researcher" belonging to the Russian Marine Rescue Service. As noted in the Danish Maritime Administration, during the work, it will be forbidden to approach the ships by several hundred meters. "Unauthorized swimming, diving, anchoring, fishing and seabed work will be prohibited in these areas. (...) The protection zone extends 200 m on each side of the cables," the notice said. Construction of Nord Stream 2 suspended According to the initial plans, the commissioning of a gas pipeline with a length of more than 1,200 km was scheduled for January 2020. However, in December 2019, pipe-laying under the Baltic Sea was suspended due to the threat of US sanctions against European contractors. Washington believes that Nord Stream 2 will make Europe even more dependent on Russian gas. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Washington is working to build a coalition to prevent completion. And in Germany and some other European countries, in light of the resonant poisoning of Alexei Navalny, there were discussions about the possible introduction of sanctions affecting the gas pipeline under construction. German Chancellor Angela Merkel left open the possibility of such a decision in the fall. Despite the controversial status of the project, in early October, the Danish Energy Agency issued a permit to operate Nord Stream 2 in its exclusive economic zone, subject to testing and verification of at least one of the gas-pipe lines.