MOSCOW, April 26. / TASS /. The Akademik Chersky pipe-laying vessel, which the head of the Russian Ministry of Energy Alexander Novak previously called the possible completion of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, is currently passing the English Channel and has changed course again – now Nakhodka is indicated as its destination. This is evidenced by the data of the tracking portals.
In February, the ship left Nakhodka in the Far East and sailed towards Singapore, where it was supposed to arrive on February 22. The route was later changed to Sri Lanka. Then the course was laid to the city of Suez in Egypt, but the route was changed to the port of Maputo in Mozambique. Then the ship circled Africa, arriving in Las Palmas (Canary Islands). Further, the route was laid to Egyptian Port Said, where the “Academician Chersky” was supposed to arrive on April 30. However, the ship never passed the Strait of Gibraltar, heading to the North Atlantic Ocean with a course to the port of Aberdeen in the UK.
The vessel has been in operation by Gazprom Fleet since 2016. At the end of December 2019, due to US sanctions, the Swiss Allseas stopped the construction of the Nord Stream 2 and stole its pipe-laying vessels.
The head of Gazprom Alexei Miller said that the pipeline will be completed on its own. The Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, called the vessel “Akademik Chersky” a possible builder of Nord Stream 2. According to forecasts of the Ministry of Energy, the launch of the pipeline can be expected before the end of 2020. Nord Stream 2 is built at 93%.
The Nord Stream 2 project involves the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The pipeline will bypass transit states (Ukraine, Belarus and Poland) through exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five states: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Gazprom’s partners in the project are European companies Uniper, Wintershall, OMV, Engie and Shell.
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