Nord Stream 2 does not receive Certificate of Conformity – Departments – Finance

The certificate was to be issued to Norwegian company Ted Norske Veridas (DNV), but on Saturday it announced it would suspend all activities to inspect the Nort Stream 2 pipeline system under US sanctions.

In the United States, the National Security Accreditation Act went into effect on January 1, including new restrictions against Nort Stream 2. Insurance threatens insurers, testing, inspection and certification companies working on the Nord Stream 2 program. If they do not leave the program within a month, they could face penalties.

DNV is a partner in the existing Nordstream pipeline and the future Nordstream 2 pipeline. The company has been certifying the existing pipeline since 2012. Studies are being conducted to reduce the project’s risks to human lives, property and the environment.

At the end of December, work on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Germany’s exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea was completed.

Work on the pipeline resumed in early December, almost a year later. Construction of the pipeline was nearing completion, but work abruptly halted in December 2019 when the United States imposed sanctions on the Nortstream 2 bible vessels, delaying the completion of the final phase.

Only 2.6 km of pipeline at a depth of less than 30 m had to be invested in the German Sea. The work was carried out by a rock called “Fortuna” which has now left the construction site.

It now has more than 100 kilometers to complete in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone, where the depth exceeds 30 meters. The Danish Maritime Authority has issued a notice to the Navy that these missions will take place from mid-January.

In October, the United States extended sanctions to prevent the completion of Nortstream 2, preventing it from financing companies providing services or equipment to modernize or install equipment on ships involved in the construction of Nortstream 2.

The defense budget, approved by the US Congress last month, also provides for sanctions against insurers and certification companies working on the Nort Stream 2 program.

Russia decided in December to resume pipe work in the Baltic Sea, using its own ships, which were not fitted as Western ships.

The United States hopes the pipeline will increase EU dependence on Russian gas supplies, providing Moscow with political influence and a tool for sanctions.

Officials in the Baltic states also criticized Nord Stream 2, insisting that it was a geopolitical project and operating against the goals of the European Energy Union.

The 1,230-kilometer pipeline is expected to supply up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Germany each year.